


A Heart on Fire

by QueenPotema



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-01-23 01:54:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18539920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPotema/pseuds/QueenPotema
Summary: Senju Tobirama is absolutely certain that he is always right. His brother just needs to learn to accept that without being so unreasonable. Except that it turns out he wasn't as right as he thought.Senju Hashirama is normally forced to concede many arguments to his brother but this one he refuses to. Just maybe not as vehemently as he should have.Uchiha Madara is an exemplary fighter, but he is so incredibly tired of fighting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An AU in which Madara doesn't get manipulated by Zetsu and instead ends up extremely depressed and lonely. 
> 
> Lots of angst and bad writing awaits woe to all ye who enter here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cat Who Saw the Truth.

"Anija, you cannot just ignore such an enormous threat to the village's safety!" Tobirama shouts out of exasperation.

Hashirama sighs deeply. This isn't the first argument they have gotten into about Madara, and it won't be the last, but this one is definitely one of the more nerve grating ones.

"He has not done anything wrong, Tobi. If he had, I would address it the same way I do with other people. Your paranoia is getting out of hand, and I don't understand why you must always insist upon taking it out on Madara!" Hashirama says his voice full of exasperation.

"Even his own clan members have come to us with concerns about him! He is a violent, unstable time bomb just waiting to blow up and destroy everything you have worked so hard to build! We must protect the village, even from your childhood friend! You are being too soft!"

Madara's clanmates have been bringing forth 'concerns' and normally, the Hokage wouldn't dismiss those so easily. Except that he knows Madara. He has seen the glares filled to the brim with suspicion and distaste aimed at the man from his clan, has heard the whispers which follow him on the streets of the village he named and he knows how deeply it hurts his friend. Hashirama knows, because he watched Madara get dismantled brick by brick, and felt incredibly useless when he could never truly help.

Truthfully, it didn't begin when Izuna was killed, though that was and still is a terrible weight on the raven haired man. Madara very nearly went mad from that grief. (Hashirama almost thinks that would have been kinder.) Instead, the Uchiha buried himself in work, both to help the village and set up safety precautions for his clan. Madara was quite paranoid when it came to them, always worried that they may get slighted because the general public tended to distrust them and spread rumors that they were cursed or other equally ridiculous things. During that time, Madara was irreplaceable in the behind the scenes work that went into making their dream real (People don't understand how much Madara really does care behind his scowl and wild hair, and they never tried to see how much meticulous care he put into seeing Konoha come to be.) but he was also nearly unreachable most of the time. There seemed to be a wall around him, one that Hashirama had to shout through to be heard.

And then, out of the blue, Hashirama began noticing changes in his friend. It was tiny things at first, like stray smiles at Hashirama's antics, or humming cheerful little tunes while he worked, or the fiery hatred in his eyes replaced by simple indifference when he caught a glimpse of Tobirama. Hashirama remebers hearing Madara laugh for the first time in years and feeling so content to see him happy that he didn't care he had stumbled during a spar and fell flat on his rear into a puddle.

Little by little, Hashirama watched Madara work beyond his mourning, and he wishes he would have known then what he knows now.

The day that he is elected Hokage was when he noticed the first step Madara took backwards. He congratulated Hashirama, but there was a certain sadness in his eyes when he does so that the newly elected Hokage felt confused by. Madara stood beside him at the inauguration, but Hashirama does not see him at the party afterwards. When he asked the next day, Madara simply replied that he was busy.

It takes Hashirama years to flash on the fact that the vote to elect him had been unanimous, not even any of the Uchiha had shown faith in Madara as a leader and it was that, not jealousy that had hurt Madara.

The next time something strikes Hashirama as deeply wrong is but a week later when they see a child trip on the streets. Madara attepts to help her up and dust her off, but she flinches away from him. Hashirama cheers her up and she trots off to wherever she had been going. As he turned to Madara to continue their conversation, he caught a glimpse of an expression that could only be described as crestfallen. It's gone so fast Hashirama almost thinks he imaged it, and he wondered at the time what could have made Madara look that way.

Other things stand out, like the rumors spread on the streets and the glares directed at Madara and it only gets worse everyday. The Uchiha clan head tries to reach out to others and make friends but after he is spurned a handful of times he just gives up. Hashirama regrets more than anything not stepping in and helping right then, the day he notices Madara begin to close up his heart. He regrets his naive beliefs that people would get to know him and everything would work out.

Hashirama regrets watching as loneliness eats away at Madara's happiness little by little.

It is painful now to look at his friend and see that hollowness haunting him. As it stands now, Madara is a danger to no one but himself.

But Hashirama also knows Tobirama would never believe that without witnessing it for himself, and Madara would sooner die than let anyone else see how the hateful glares and hushed rumors get to him, so he just flops down into his chair and tries to massage away the headache in his temples. He truly loves his brother, but he wishes Tobi were just a little bit more empathetic.

"Otouto, you do not know what you are talking about."

"Yes I do! It is you who is too blinded by a friendship that is long gone to see reason!"

Hashirama feels burning anger flash through him and he is about to explode at Tobirama like he never has before when he has a much better idea and forces himself to calm down.

"Alright Tobirama. Since you seem so concerned about Madara, I have a mission for you. You are going to investigate."

"Finally-!"

"I was not finished! You are going to investigate his behavior stealthily. If you are caught, then you will be stripped of your title as a shinobi. Permanently."

"Are you insane?! That is madness! you can't just-!"

"I am the Hokage and I most certainly can! You need to be reminded that I am the one in charge here otouto. More over, if you are not capable of something as simple as observing one man without being caught, you shouldn't even call yourself a shinobi in the first place."

"Fine! If this is what it takes to get you to investigate then I accept. But when I do find evidence of whatever that rabid dog is up to, you had better be ready to put him in his place!" Tobirama growls.

"I expect a full report once you have found your 'evidence.'" Hashirama says smugly.

Tobirama sweeps out the door and Hashirama smiles to himself. He doesn't know why he didn't think of this sooner. Now his little brother will see for himself. There is no doubt in the Hokage's mind that Tobirama can evade detection for the short amount of time it would take for him to see what was really going on, he only said what he did to make sure Tobirama wouldn't just immediately try and interrogate the Uchiha, and once he saw how Madara lived these days, he would stop antagonizing him so much. With Tobi not being so pigheaded about it, Madara could be included on internal affairs again if he wanted and work in the office with Hashirama. The Uchiha had only stepped down from the village affairs in the first place because he got tired of arguing.

Who knows, maybe his best friend and his little brother would even start becoming friends themselves. It may be a little much to hope for but having more than one friend would be wonderful for Madara. Just wait Mada, Hashirama thinks to himself as he turns his gaze out the window, things are going to start looking up really soon.

Tobirama stomps into his lab. He is absolutely furious at his brother's chosen method, but elated at the same time that he will be able to find evidence of whatever Madara was up to. The village's greatest threat would soon be purged. And luckily, Tobirama already has seals on standby that would make it mere child's play to spy on the man.

He activates them with haste and feels the familar lurch of his chakra as he transforms. He then takes time to stretch his new body and adjust himself to the anatomy. These particular seals were designed with covert missions in mind. When used, they transform the user into an animal of their choice. For this, he decides a feline would be best. He has used these seals before during a test, so Tobirama knows already to expect the dramatic decrease in his chakra capacity and his height and mass. It was what made them perfect for spying on another sensor, he will appear as nothing more than a house cat, a nin neko at best.

Once he is accustomed to his new form, he is trotting out the open window, ready to sniff out the Uchiha. It is easy to locate the clanhead's home within the walls of the compound, thought it does strike him as odd that it is located on the outer most area. It is also rather small for someone of Madara's rank. Still, in this feline form Tobirama's sense of smell is much better and this place reeks of the man. So he picks and appropriate place and lays down to wait.

It takes a long time for the Uchiha to stir. So long that Tobirama almost thinks he made a mistake and Madara isn't home. But that shouldn't be possible with the strong scent coating the place. He is about to give up and search elsewhere when he hears noises coming from the house.

When Madara does finally emerge there is something off about him. He is slouched almost instead of his normal regal pose and his eyes look dead. The minute someone else was in veiwing distance though, he straights up and looks normal. It is odd to say the least.

As soon as Tobirama gets over that tidbit of strange behavior, something else catches his attention as he silently trails Madara through the compound. No one talks to him at all. No greetings, or 'good mornings,' or even just a stray wave. The only people who look at him are the ones brave enough to give him heated glares as he passes. Tobirama knew that some of the Uchiha were groing suspicious of Madara, but he hadn't known the whole clan was actively shunning the man. He definitely had to be planning something and they caught wind of it. Otherwise, this made no sense.

He expects people to get a little warmer towards the man when they turn from the Uchiha compound onto the streets of Konoha, but they do the opposite. Outside of the compound people are bold enough to whisper rumors as if trained shinobi can't hear them. Most of them are false or highly exaggerated, Tobirama knows, and it confounds him. Why are these people accusing Madara of things he hasn't done? It is much more productive to focus on the things that he has like... Well Tobirama isn't entirely certain what he has done lately but he is working on finding out.

Madara keeps to himself the whole way through the village and makes his way to the cliff where Hashirama's likeness is carved (Tobirama still thinks that is a stupid, tacky, irresponsible thing to do but his brother was set on it and the citizens loved it so he got stuck with it.) Once there he just sits down, wraps his arms around his knees and lays his head on them.

Tobirama stands behind a rock bewildered by the pose which he knows is meant to be self-comforting. But that meant Madara was upset. And if Madara was upset, that meant he felt things besides anger. And... Tobirama has never considered that a possiblity. He regrets thinking of it now because that makes Madara seem human. It makes the fact that not a single person, even within the man's own clan, would so much as say 'hello' to him seem terribly lonely. He hadn't planned to feel sympathy for Madara but it happened before he could stop it. He scowls and shakes that thought away. If Madara is lonely than it is his own fault for being such a slimy bastard. People wouldn't be suspicious of him if he didn't give them a reason to be so.

His thoughts are interrupted when Hashirama arrives on the cliff to meet Madara (Tobirama should have expected it, he has to come and drag Hashirama away from here on a semi-regular basis).

"Good morning dear friend~" Hashirama exclaims brightly.

"Hashirama." Madara says as his form of a greeting.

Apparently undeterred by Madara's lackluster attitude, the Hokage flops down beside the Uchiha and throws an arm over his shoulders, "How are you doing?"

"You know very well 'how I am doing' do not be purposefully ignorant." Madara snaps.

Tobirama frowns as best he can in his cat body. There is no reason for Madara to lash out at his older brother like that.

"I know. I just... hoped maybe things were getting better for you is all. I don't want you to be so unhappy. It's not fair." Hashirama says quietly, his cheerfulness dampened.

"You are too naive. I will always be just as I am now." Madara says, "Or I'll be dead.."

"You never know. People change sometimes." replies Hashirama. He either didn't hear the wistfulness in the last part or he is pretending he didn't.

Madara huffs, "I do not want to talk about this anymore."

They sit in silence for awhile just watching life in the village below as it goes. It is the wild haired Uchiha who finally breaks the silence after laying his head down on Hashirama's shoulder. Tobirama takes a moment to wonder why the hell they are so touchy with each other then tries to focus on what Madara is saying.

"I missed you. It has been two days since I last saw you."

"I know. I am really sorry. I was so busy with work, the paperwork is never ending and I had several meetings with ambassadors from new clans." Hashirama says sheepishly. 'And some things are more important than you Uchiha' Tobirama adds in his head.

"It takes a lot to run a village, I understand. It was only an observation. I wasn't accusing you of anything." Madara says in a show of good nature that Tobirama wasn't aware the Uchiha had in him. The albino shifts uncomfortably.

Hashirama looks at his friend who is staring into the distance, "I still wish I had more time to spend with you."

"I can deal with being by myself. I am not a child."

"Adults get lonely, Madara. I mean... I am not saying you are not capable of taking care of yourself on your own. You are just always on your own is all. Humans are not built for that. Hell, Tobi is the most antisocial person I have ever met and even he comes out of his work every so often for company. You... you are not like him you know? You don't cope with being alone well."

Madara stays very quiet for a long time and when he does finally speak it is to change the subject again, "I heard you are getting married soon."

"Yeah," Hashirama sighs in defeat, "To Uzumaki Mito."

"Political?"

"It started that way. But then I actually met her and... She's a lovely woman Madara. I wouldn't have chosen any differently anyway."

"Congratulations then. Though for the record, I very much doubt anyone would be bold enough to attempt to force you to do something you didn't want to do. Even if that something was marriage."

Hashirama booms out a laugh, "Well that is probably true. I was not very happy about the idea at first but I figured not even bothering to meet her would be awfully rude. Once I did, I was done for. I will introduce you to her sometime. She's moving here soon."

"She likely has no desire to mingle with someone who has a reputation like mine."

"Most of that reputation is slander. Mito would not judge you before she met you."

Madara hums noncommittally.

Hashirama starts babbling about all of Mito's virtues and Madara listens quietly only occasionally commenting on Hashirama's foolishness. Mostly, the Uchiha seems to be content to listen to the Hokage's smitten praise of his wife to be, no matter how meaningless the words are. This goes on for quite awhile until the two drift into another silence. Somehow though, Tobirama feels as if he's missing an entire conversation during that silence, almost as if the two of them are able to read each other's minds. Madara relaxes and stretches his legs out of the pose they had been in the entire time. Hashirama begins braiding strands of Madara's hair and the Uchiha either doesn't notice or doesn't care and allows him to do it.

That drags on for so long Tobirama wonders if his brother plans on returning to his work at all and growls. He can't get out of disguise to drag the man back and he knows Hashirama will be content to waste the rest of the entire day being distracted by Madara.

"Hashirama." Madara says suddenly.

"Hm?" the man in question hums as he continues his braiding.

"You have work to do right?" Madara asks.

"I can stay for awhile longer."

"Your brother will be here any second to get you, and I am not in the mood to deal with his attitude."

'My attitude?!' Tobirama thinks to himself hotly.

"I really wish you guys would get along better."

"I may try if he were not just like evryone else in the village."

"You mean it is not about... what happened?"

Madara leveled a glare at Hashirama, "Did you get hit on the head? You already know it is not. I worked past that years ago."

"You never really said it out loud before is all."

"Well I did not think I had to spell it out for you. You always seem pretty in tune to my feelings as I am to yours. But if you truly need to hear it then fine. I hated your brother once for what he did to Izuna, but after all the time I have had to think about it I realized it was an act of war not malice. If I had just made peace sooner like you wanted, forced my clan to see reason instead of bending to their defiance... Izuna would still be here. It was my own foolishness that got him killed. His blood is on my hands, not Tobirama's. There, happy?"

Tobirama surely wasn't. He felt sick. Totally and completely ill. This couldn't be real. Where was the hateful spiteful Madara he knew? The one who was plotting for bloody vengeance behind the scenes, the one the villagers all feared? This man possessed none of that poisonous hatred. And Tobirama has to consider that maybe Hashirama was right. Or... maybe this is an act to get the Hokage to drop his guard. That had to be it. Ingenious, but Tobirama won't fall for it.

"Madara... that's not..."

"None of that matters. The point still stands that he despises me and I deal with enough of that already. So you better not be waiting until he shows up."

"He is on a mission. He will be gone for awhile. I am not sure exactly how long though." Hashirama says.

"You still have work." Madara says.

Hashirama sighs deeply, "You nag just like him... I guess I do have a lot of work to do."

"Then stop wasting time and go." Madara mumbles.

"I don't consider this time wasted. It is important to you which makes it important to me. Besides, I like speanding time with you." Says Hashirama as he stands.

Madara pulls his knees back up to his chest looking up at Hashirama with a nearly pleading gaze, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

And Tobirama almost growls, because Hashirama won't have time between meetings and paperwork tomorrow he is certain, but he is also certain that his brother is going to put off work for Madara and set them back for weeks to come-

"I am afraid not. Tomorrow will be much too busy, especially since I will be on my own. Unless you want to come to the office with me..? Tobi probably won't be there. Just me, and the clan heads I will be meeting with"

"You know I am no good at politics. I don't know how to do anything but fight. If you have meetings to attend to tomorrow, it would be best if I stayed out of them. I would just be a burden. That's all I ever am anymore." Madara sighs returning his crestfallen gaze to the horizon. He looks so hopeless and small that even Tobirama finds it painful to see.

Hashirama's face falls and he leans down to hug the Uchiha tightly, "I am sorry."

"Don't be. I understand you have more important things to do. A wife to be. A village to take care of. I don't expect you pay attention to me all the time." Madara all but whispers.

And for the first time, Tobirama considers the position his brother is in. Because even if Madara is putting up an act right now, Hashirama is still the only person who has interracted with him in a positive manner all day and it is more than likely that way everyday. From Hashirama's view, he is Madara's only form of support, the one thing keeping him afloat. Tobirama can't imagine that kind of pressure.

"You are important Madara. I can't stand seeing you like this. If... If I knew how to make things better I would do it in a second."

"You can not fix everything. You spread yourself too thin as it is." Madara says. And its true, Tobirama knows his brother has always been that way, always trying to make things better for everyone around him no matter what it costs him.

Hashirama finally straightens after several long moments of him just holding Madara, "We can have dinner together tonight. I will meet you when I get off."

"Okay." Madara says.

The Hokage reluctantly waves goodbye and flickers away. Madara curls in on himself the moment Hashirama is gone. A distinct salty smell fills the air and a stone settles in Tobirama's gut. He weaves through the stones to get a better look, and freezes when his hunch is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Tears fall silently in streams down Madara's face, sorrow etched into his very being. Real, heart wrenching sorrow, the kind that clings and refuses to let go.

Tobirama stares at the grieving man for a long moment. There is no reason why he would still be faking. He doesn't know Tobirama is there, and no one else can see this. The albino backs up slowly behind a rock and sits down just watching.

It takes several minutes for Madara to regain his composure, but once he does, he stands up and starts the walk back to his home. Tobirama expects the same hushed whispers and glares from before but something even more perplexing happens. A group of children, who likely know nothing about the man except the exaggerated and untrue rumors, jeer at him openly as he is about to enter his clan's compound. When he ignores them, one of them picks up a stone and hurls it at the man. He catches it with no trouble of course and glares daggers at the children. Tobirama's breath catches, sure he is about to witness a child get murdered by the ruthless Uchiha.

The children falter but don't back dowm entirely. The stone thrower takes a bold, and stupid step forward to place another nail in his coffin, "You don't belong here you know. You make my little sister scared and Mama says you bring bad luck. Everyone would be happier if you were gone."

Madara turns his gaze to the stone in his hand, "Be careful who you provoke in the future. Not everyone is without the energy to cuff you upside the head as I am." Is all he says before continuing his trek home.

He shuffles inside, still holding the stone then walks out of Tobirama's view.

Tobirama has never been so entirely conflicted. This Uchiha is but a shadow of the madman Tobirama once knew. There is not much left to threaten the village. Yet... If Madara was not the lurking evil, then what role could he possibly have? Tobirama shakes himself out of that line of thinking and tries to slip into the Uchiha's home, hoping to find anything other than what he had already seen. Unfortunately, the place is well sealed down, as expected of a shinobi of Madara's capabilities.

Madara himself pokes his head out of the window Tobirama had tried to sneak into with a scowl. He looks around seeming annoyed until his eyes land on Tobirama and the albino nearly has a heart attack seeing the sharigan spinning lazily in his irises.

"Oh. Just a cat. Why are you trying to get in here little one?" he says. The sharingan fades and Madara's black eyes filled with sadness and something akin to fondness rest on Tobirama instead.

This was of course why he had chosen a cat for his spying form. Not only did he retain his agility and reflexes, albeit without his chakra, the Uchiha clan Madara included had an odd facination with the animals. Many strays roamed freely on the grounds as is, one more wouldn't be noticed. Still, Uchiha Madara of all people asking a random street cat a question and expecting an answer seemed silly, so much so that it made him sound more like Hashirama. Tobirama tilts his head and wonders through frustration why he can't get a read on this man.

"Hungry maybe? You seem a little thin. Come on in then. I don't have much here but I think I have some fish for you." Madara says retreating into the house.

Tobirama follows through the window and smirks inwardly at how easy the infiltration was. His cat transformation really was ingenious. The smug pride vanishes once he is inside though, because he can't believe anyone lives here, much less Madara. This place looks abandoned. There is hardly anything here. Just a couple pieces of furniture, a few scrolls and his gunbai leaning against a wall in the distance. His musings are cut short when a saucer of fish chunks is placed in front of him.

"There you go. Technically, I suppose this fish is meant for my birds, but... I won't need it anymore. I will be releasing them tonight." Madara says softly.

Tobirama's eyes narrow to slits. This is what he had been waiting for. He knew he would catch wind of something. How ironic that Madara's strange habit of talking to an animal would be what does him in. But Madara must keep thinking he is a mere feline if that is to happen. So he begins picking at the fish like a normal cat would.

Madara goes about bustling and Tobirama's nerves fray farther when Madara begins putting on his battle armor, "You know, normally even cats avoid this place. I tried to keep one as a pet once, but it seems even cats find my company distasteful and he ran off somewhere.. Since then, I never tried again, and the strays on the compound avoid my home quite completely. So you must be very brave. Or just that hungry."

Madara sighs as he straightens the straps of his armor. He then picks something up and sits beside where Tobirama is nibbling om fish. He tries to inconspicuously see what the man is holding and is shocked to find it is a Leaf Village headband. He was sure Madara hadn't kept the one Hahsirama had given him, the one he had secretly marked with one of his Hiraishin seals so he would always be able to get to Madara quickly.

"I am sorry little one, this is the only time you will be able to count on a meal from me. The rest of my clan is sure to feed you though, so long as you aren't seen around here again. And a word of advice, if you see a man wondering around the village who has your colors and blue armor, try and make friends with him. Someone has to soften him up a bit before he takes Hashirama's place, otherwise he will be much too hard a leader." Madara says.

Tobirama is so stunned he almost falls over. He is certain the raven means him in the last bit, but he doesn't understand what he means beyond that. He speaks like he will no longer be-

Madara is going to defect! He plans on taking Hashirama out and fleeing! But why would he do such a thing? It doesn't make sense. Tobirama waits for more clues, but Madara doesn't continue talking. He just sits there rubbing his thumb over the symbol on his headband. Tobirama loses track of time until there is a knock at Madara's door.

"I suppose that is him. Prompt as always. You are welcome to stay or go as you please, not that you cats would do anything else. Either way, take care little one. I appreciate your company." He says as he stands. He ties the headband around his forehead and then goes to the door.

Tobirama's heart nearly stops. He hadn't realized how much time had passed when he was looking for ways into Madara's home. He has to warn his brother somehow. He leaps from the counter towards the two.

"Whoa Madara, I said dinner not a battle." Hashirama says scratching the back of his neck.

Madara ushers him inside and shuts the door.

"Are you okay?" Hashirama says as he comes inside.

"I am afraid I am going to have to cancel our original plan. There was something I wanted to ask you today on the cliff... but I suppose I lost my nerve." Madara says.

Tobirama paws at his brothers feet for attention, trying desperately to signal him. He knew this scouting was a terrible idea!

"You have one strange cat.." Hashirama leans down and removes Tobirama from his leg then returns his attention to Madara even as the albino starts meowing with all his might, "Anyway, it isn't like you to be afraid to tell me something. You know you can talk to me about anything."

Madara sighs and picks Tobirama up despite his hissing and puts him back by the window, "Go on little one."

Tobirama stares with fear as Madara turns back to Hashirama. His brother's guard is totally down Madara only has to make one swift movement with a kunai to kill him and there is nothing Tobirama can do to stop him.

"I want a mission." Madara says with conviction causing both Senju brothers to pause with confusion.

"Well... alright. No problem. But I mean... you didn't have to be afraid to ask for one? Tobi normally does the assignments, I know, but you have come to me directly as you have before when you got too bored." Hashirama speaks slowly as he fishes for answers. There is something heavy about the request, like it means more than it should.

"I want a specific mission. I have heard about that rogue bandit clan to the south. I know they are causing enough trouble to warrent their destrustion. I also know you and your brother have been trying to put together the right team for the job. I am more than capable."

Tobirama blinks trying to make sure this is real and not a dream. What the hell is going on?

"Of course. I thought of you already, but you should know that it is a mission that requires a pretty big team. Still, you will make a good leader no matter what Tobi says. I will center the squad for the job around you-"

"No squad. Just me."

Hashirama puts a hand on his hip and eyes his friend, "Our intel tells us there are at least a hundred shinobi in the group your speaking of, probably more. Not to mention the fact that they are normally hired as bodyguards for even worse criminals and assassins, they are not push overs! More than half of them are s-rank mercenaries based on Tobirama's scale. Thats an entire army Madara, and they are already prepped for attack, even people like you and me can't take all that man power alone."

"I know."

Tobirama's heart seizes once more as his gaze turns to the Uchiha. He is requesting a suicide mission. A blatant one. He wants to die. And that is many things most prominently shocking, horrifying and terribly sad.

"You know? Then why would you request I send you alone, thats suic-" Hashirama stops abruptly and a look of horror settles on his face as the same realization hits him.

"I trust you know why." Madara mumbles.

"You can't be serious." Hashirama replies.

Madara turns giving a half-hearted glare to the Hokage, "Of course I'm serious."

"No. Absolutely not, Madara. If you go there alone, you'll be killed." Hashirama asserts firmly.

"I might be killed. Your lack of confidence in me is insulting. Even if I am, I will make sure every one of those criminals goes down with me. Things would be... simpler. For you at least. My clanmates and your brother would stop pestering you about me all the time. And... you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore. The world would be a lot brighter for you with out a shadow like me hanging around." Madara says shifting so that his long bangs cover his eyes, "I don't belong here, Hashirama."

"I... That is not true! You know that... You know I care about you right? Even if no one else... I mean... You can't just... You are asking me to send you on a mission when both of us are fully aware the odds overwhelmingly not in your favor and I just can't do that."

"And I can't continue existing this way!" Madara snaps as his sharingan suddenly flares to life and begins spinning rapidly, "I can't! Even if you hate me for it, even if Izuna hates me for throwing his gift away. I can't. I am not strong enough to endure this. I would rather not give any of them the satisfaction of being able to call me a coward if I take my own life, and I definitely don't want to prove them right and go rogue. But I will if I must. Don't doubt it for a second. I am going. If you try and stop me I will just fall to a more worthy opponent."

Hashirama stares at Madara for a long time tears falling freely down his face. Tobirama can't begin to imagine the pain in his brother's heart. He can't deny it any longer, Hashirama has been right all along. Madara wasn't plotting anything but his own demise. And he has realized it just in time to right his mistake. Hashirama will never give Madara such a dangerous mission and he still has time to transform and help his brother stop the Uchiha. But as he has been most of the day he is wrong. Hashirama springs forward and hugs Madara tightly his whole body quivering.

"Alright. If this will give you solice... I will return to the tower and fill out the necessary forms. You... Give those bandits hell." Hashirama's voice shakes almost as bad as his body is.

"I promise. And as for you, don't have another fit of depression over something so trivial. You are the only one stupid enough to mourn for me." Madara says raising one hand and wrapping it around Hashirama.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I have failed you." Hashirama says into Madara's shoulder.

"No you haven't. You are the only person who I could count on. I brought this all on myself and I will end it that way. For what it is worth though... the only thing I would change given a chance is my brothers' deaths. I don't regret building this village with you. This peace has flaws, but I believe with you at its helm it will grow into something truly amazing." Madara replies with a sincere smile.

Hashirama squeezes Madara more tightly for a few seconds and then releases him and steps back. The Uchiha secures his gunbai on his back and breathes out a farewell before taking off over rooftops into the night.

Tobirama looks to his brother for any signs the man intends to stop Madara but he just stands in place shaking as tears stream down his cheeks and drip onto the floor. When he does finally move it is to put a fist through Madara's wall. Tobirama growls and leaps out the window to go to his lab. He is going to stop this.

He slides into the slightly open window he left for when he returned and hastily leaps onto the formula of seals that are set to automatically transform him back. In his hurry, he doesn't realise until they activate that he had put too much chakra into them earlier. When he does, its too late to do anything, so he braces for pain.

Tobirama blacks out just as the light from the seals over take him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rift Which Tore Between Them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still suck at writing. Please forgive me. I have lots of ideas and no talent.

When Tobirama awakens the first thing he notices is the sunlight coming through the window. Some sense of urgency tells him he should be very worried about that, but he can't place why in his foggy mind. 

The next thing he notices is the ache in his body. That doesn't bother him too much though, he is used to pain, as most shinobi are and it is little more than an annoyance. So he pushes himself up and slides off the table top he was on.

He figures that another of his experimental Jutsu must have gone awry which is not an uncommon occurrence for him, so why is he so concerned? He rubs his head trying to place why he feels so on edge. 

With a jolt it finally hits him, he is supposed to be stopping that foolish Uchiha. The foolish Uchiha who now has an entire day's lead on a three day trip. He can still catch up if he moves quickly. 

Tobirama hurries to get his mission equipment and armor on and bolts to the Hokage's tower. He must tell Hashirama where he is going before he leaves, lest his brother foolishly abandon his post to come find him. He also wants official documentation of his departure so no one can consider him a missing nin. 

He bursts into his brother's office, "Anija!" 

Hashirama doesn't look up from the paperwork he is working on. He looks awful. He obviously hasn't slept all night long, his hair, which is normally neat, is unkept with strands sticking up in several different directions, his clothing is disheveled and his eyes are red from crying. Tobirama takes a moment to hope against the odds Hashirama hasn't looked this way throughout all his meetings. 

"I am really not in the mood Tobirama. I am fully prepared for tomorrow and I am almost done with today's work. You have kept your distance this long. Just... Take the rest day off too. Leave me be." Hashirama finally says. 

"I- Well I didn't take the day off on purpose. There was a slight mishap with one of my newer seals and- I didn't come for that. I came to talk to you about Madara." Tobirama corrects. 

The reaction is instant, his brother's gaze snaps up to meet his with a look filled to the brim with rage, "I am warning you, if you have come here to falsely accuse him of being a traitor again, after everything that has happened I won't be able to keep my temper. So tread carefully little brother." 

Tobirama flinches. Though he knows for certain his brother would never hurt him, he has also never seen the man this angry at him. There is something tragic about the thought that Hashirama may never truly forgive him or anyone else that isolated Madara. He would still protect them, Tobirama knows he still believes in this village even at the terrible price of his best friend's life, but that resentment would always be there. And even if no one else saw it through Hashirama's charismatic speeches and brilliant smiles, Tobirama would, and that rift between them would remain for the rest of their days. He will do anything to avoid that. 

He takes a deep breath before pressing forward, "I was wrong. Madara never had any ill intent towards you or the village. It seems to be the other way around actually on the village's part. I... I never meant to cause him so much pain." 

Hashirama watches him with an unreadavle gaze for a long while before mumbling a reply, "So you did actually watch him like I asked... It was not all your fault." 

"Most of it was. I am not stupid enough to believe the way I behave doesn't affect the veiw points of others and neither are you. For the villagers, me never even trying to understand him and always treating him as if he were worthy of fear and suspicion only justified the image of him they already had. Even if his demeanor and strength already caused others to fear him, the way I acted made it exponentially worse for him. But I understand now that I was mistaken, and I am going to make it right." 

"It's too late. He's gone. I sort of expected you to be listening to the conversation I had with him last night. Were you not?" Hashirama replies. 

Tobirama nods, "I was the cat." 

"The ca-... oh. I knew that cat did seemed off. Clever. But you already know then. Where he's gone that is. I can tell you for certain he won't be back, because he doesn't want to come back. I already have a mission form filled out to retrieve his... remains. We can't leave him. If you want to do that..." Hashirama says before Tobirama can continue. 

He holds up a little packet filled in with information. Tobirama's heart constricts. A retrieval is unacceptable, he is going to preform a resuce that document is wrong, wrong, wrong! 

Now that his anger has been tamped back down, Hashirama looks and sounds more distraught with grief than Tobirama has seen him since Itama's death. He cannot allow his brother to have to live with this on his shoulder's when it is Tobirama's failure, not his.

"Revise it. I will go to retrieve Madara, but I will retrieve him alive." 

"Tobirama, I am seriously not in the mood to argue with you. You will never catch up to him in time." 

"Don't argue then. I placed a mark on the headband you gave him long ago, and it seems he didn't get rid of it as I thought. He never noticed. Or maybe he didn't care. Either way all I have to do is get into sensory range." Tobirama states. 

He is very unprepared for it when Hashirama just explodes, "And then what Tobirama?! What will you do? Once again, you are standing here arguing against me when you don't even understand the situation you're arguing about! Madara doesn't want to suffer anymore. And even if you could drag him back here against his will, which you can't, I wouldn't send you to do that just because I miss him. Because he has been so miserable. Because you can't just hope the village will change its mind about him overnight, I doubt they ever will. I am already trying to figure out what I'm going to do when I have to tell people he was killed in action and they act fucking relieved that he's gone. Because pretty soon, I will be married and having children and the days on end he would have to spend alone would become weeks and he would not seek out help or company because he already feels like a burden to me, specifically, and no one else will help him! You've already succeeded. You and everyone else here broke him. Even if you got him back, the damage has been done. I would just have to sit and watch him become more empty and heartbroken until I found him dead of starvation, or alcohol poisoning." His brother pauses to take a shaky breath and wipes the tears off his cheeks, "Just drop it. My best friend is gone." 

"I understand that you're upset-" Tobirama tries. He's at a loss he has never seen his brother fall apart so completely. 

"No you don't!!! You don't understand anything, you have never tried! Get out!" Hashirama says standing up so abruptly he knocks his chair over. 

"Anija-" that does even less good. 

"OUT!" 

Tobirama flinches again. Hashirama has always cared about Madara, that much was obvious, but Tobirama thinks he underestimated just how much Hashirama cares. To him, it is as if he has lost another brother. Tobirama feels another sickening wave of regret wash over him, and he feels about an inch tall under the scutiny of his brother. As much as he wants to crawl away and hide, he can't leave Hashirama this way, the man is coming apart at the seams. He does the only thing he can think of. He charges forward and embraces his brother as tightly as his armor will allow. 

"I'm sorry. For every arguement before this one. I should have listened to you. And I am sorry that I can't start listening right now. I cannot let him go off to die." 

"Because you feel guilty?" Hashirama growls even as he melts into the hug. 

"Because he is by all rights a citizen of Konoha, a member of the village I swore to protect. And because he will take a piece of you with him that I am not sure you'd ever get back... I do have a plan you know." 

Hashirama snuggles his head against the fur collar of Tobiramas armor, "You never move without one... It is a big risk. If he's too close to the enemy when you fly to him they could sense the two of you and attack you. You won't be able to talk him down, he may lash out at you if you try, and what I said before still stands, you can't force him to do anything... You shouldn't go." 

Tobirama slides out of the embrace and begins fishing in his kunai pouch for a marked one, "I will leave anchors periodically until I'm in range of the mark on his headband. Once I am I will teleport to him and touch him. That will take the element of suprise and a little bit of luck, but he isn't at his best right now so I'm certain I can manage. After that, all thats left is using the anchors I drop to get back here. As for talking him down..." Tobirama explains holding out the kunai for his brother to take, "We can do that together. The right way. We will come up with something to help him." 

The elder takes the kunai then looks back at his desk, "What about all this work? That is not going to be easy and I doubt I will have time for both. I know how much you hate it when I let it pile up." 

Tobirama recognizes it as a hollow attempt at a joke and smiles just a bit, "That's not a matter of life and death. Just this once we can let it slide." 

Hashirama runs his thumb gently over the seal on the knife. His brow is furrowed in deep thought for a few minutes before he finally sighs in defeat, "I wouldn't have been able to stop him you know. Not without having to fight him and kill him with my own hands, and the very idea of that makes me sick. Even knowing that to be true, I just can't stop thinking that if I had just tried harder before things got so out of hand. If I had fought for him when he was still trying, when he needed me, if I hadn't let him mourn Izuna alone, if I hadn't been so convinced that things would work out on their own without me intervening on his behalf... Maybe he would have never felt so terrible that he'd rather die then live in the place he worked so tirelessly build... And now you too. I know you are doing this in part because I made you feel guilty and if you get hurt, it'll be my fault. I unfortunately also realize I won't be able to stop you without force. So go. Go, but be careful. Please be very very careful. I know you are always cautious and careful but be even more so this time. I can't come with you and I don't think I would survive it if I lost both of you." 

"I promise." Tobirama says, "Remember to revise that mission document so that it is for a rescue and not a recovery. Sign it for me too. I will be back before morning." 

"Tobi," Hashirama says as the albino in question is about to leap out the window. 

Tobirama pauses and turns around, "Yes?" 

"Thank you." his brother mumbles clutching the marked kunai to his chest. 

Tobirama nods once and then jumps out of the window and onto the next rooftop. He establishes the fastest speed he can reasonably maintain over a large distance and sets out into the forest. 

He travels for a great distance before he begins to feel uneasy. Tobirama knows for sure that Madara left nearly twenty hours before him. Even so, Tobirama's sensory range spans for leagues when he streches it out before him. That combined with his greater travel speed should have put him in range of him within around five hours of travel, even if Madara hasn't stopped for a single moment since leaving. Yet Tobirama has been traveling for nearly ten hours and still has not found a drop of Madara's chakra in his range, much less his Hiraishin anchor. Madara should not be able to travel this fast. 

Tobirama picks up his pace a little and stretches his range as far as possible. He keeps going for another hour and a half and then wonders if Madara may have taken a different path. But no, this one is the most direct, if speed was a concern of the Uchiha, and it most certainly was with Madara being aware that Hashirama would have a team on his heels to retrieve a body, this is the way he would have gone. It doesn't make any sense that he hasn't sensed Madara yet. The Uchiha is fast but not that fast. To achieve this he would have to be flying which he is not capable of. 

Except... that he is. Because he has a contract with giant hawk summons that Tobirama and most everyone else always forgets about because he rarely if ever uses them. And if he flew there, then that means a trip that should have lasted three days was cut down to one. Which means Madara is likely dead already. 

Tobirama grits his teeth and keeps going. He won't give up. He will bring Madara home to his brother and he will fix what he has broken. He has to. 

The next half a day of travel passes in a blur. The only thing Tobirama remembers is his anxiety over what state he may find Madara in and what his brother must be thinking. Tobirama had told him he would be back by the following morning but he had gone over that deadline considerably. He is never late. His brother probably jumped to the worst of conclusions within the first few hours and is now grieving his heart out for both him and Madara. Tobirama highly doubts his brother's ability to remain productive in such a state and the thought of the work piling up alone makes him quicken his pace to say nothing of the thought of Hashirama remaining in that unreachable state for any length of time. 

When a dredge of Madara's chakra and the presence of his anchor finally flits into Tobirama's awareness, he is so relieved he can barely think for a second. He drops another anchor where he stands and teleports to Madara. 

He is not prepared for what he finds. 

The first thing he sees is blood. The battle field is soaked with it. True to his word and his mission, Madara had somehow eradicated every member of the bandit clan. It had been and even harder battle than Tobirama had feared from the looks of this place, however, and one that only ended hours ago at most if the still burning flames are any indication. That means that either Madara's flight had taken more time than Tobirama anticipated, or the Uchiha had fought a battle that lasted nearly two days alone. Tobirama shudders at the prospect.

And then, there is Madara himself. It takes Tobirama a few minutes to locate the man with his faint chakra sigiture amongst the rest of the carnage on the battlefield and when he does, he is not comforted at all. The Uchiha lays in the middle of the main road where a trail of blood indicated he had drug himself. There is a dangerously large puddle of crimson under him but his tattered red armor prevents Tobirama from immediately seeing the source. He has various other comparatively minor injuries visible on his body but whatever is causing him to bleed that much is the main concern. The only reason Tobirama knows Madara is alive and not dead of blood loss is he can sense life still flickering in the man. 

He curses and kneels beside Madara. Hurriedly, he removes the man's armor to see the full brunt of the damage. A long painful looking gash in his chest that runs clean through his whole body is the main issue. Undoubtedly, the wound has very nearly destroyed the lung it runs through and it's nothing less than a miracle when the man weakly sucks in a breath. 

Tobirama is by no means a medical shinobi, but he begins healing the wound as best he knows how. He has to get Madara in good enough condition to be transported which means at the very least getting his ribs mended so they won't rip into his lungs further. 

He quickly realizes that he is far out of his depth and Madara will die out here if he keeps futily trying to heal him. He gathers the half dead Uchiha in his arms as gently as possible despite the multiple rib fractures he poorly patched and prepares to use the Hiraishin. There is a chance that he will teleport to his brother in the middle of a meeting but it is a chance he is willing to take. The lurch of the Hiraishin jostles Madara's body more than Tobirama would like but it can't be helped. The pair land right in the middle of Hashirama's living room causing the Hokage to startle.

He pants from exertion and looks up at his brother who is staring at him with wide misty eyes, "Mission complete." 

"By the sage, Tobirama!" The elder exclaims tearfully as he wraps both Tobirama and his cargo in a hug, "You scared me half to death! You were supposed to be back forever ago. I thought... you were..." 

"I know you did. You always jump to conclusions. I am fine. But Madara..." Tobirama trails off. 

Hashirama pulls back and wipes the tears from his eyes before assessing his friend's condition. He gasps when he sees the gaping wound in the Uchiha's chest. 

"I.. Is he...?" 

"Not yet. But he needs you to heal him. I did my best but..." 

Hashirama nods once and wipes his tears away, "Set him down." 

Tobirama lays Madara on his back carefully. It is then that he notices his arms, clothing and armor is covered in the other man's blood and winces. 

"Can you save him?" Tobirama asks. His brother is so focused on his healing technique that Tobirama almost does not expect an answer. 

"Maybe. I can't believe he is alive at all. His left lung is collapsed and there's hole in his heart. Not to mention the amount of blood he's lost. It will be close." Hashirama mumbles in a way that tells Tobirama he is mostly talking to himself. 

Sighing, the younger Senju decides he may as well get cleaned up. The feeling of blood drying on him is driving him insane. It takes roughly half an hour of scubbing in his brother's sink and a clean change of clothes barrowed from Hashirama's dresser before he's satisfied. 

When he returns, Hashirama is still working on Madara with sweat glistening on his forehead and his eyebrows knit in concentration. He takes his place at his brother's side and waits regardless of the exhaustion taking the place of adrenaline in his body. 

Tobirama does not even realize he is falling alseep until the soothing hum of healing chakra abruptly falls silent in the room. The lack of noise jolts Tobirama from his doze. 

"I managed to mend his lung so he can breathe right. You did a good enough job on his ribs that I didn't need to do much to them but his heart is complicated. I have patched the hole, but I have no clue if it'll hold or not. It would be best if someone watched over him for the next few hours." Hashirama lists as he wraps the still open wound in clean bandages. It'll take more than on session for a wound like that one to get healed, Hashirama was more than likely just trying to mend internal organs with the first. 

"You need to go get some work done since I doubt you've been productive the past two days. I will watch over him." Tobirama mumbles as he streches his aching muscles.

Hashirama hugs him to his chest, "I really thought you were dead. Both of you. I... was so so alone. Do not do that to me ever again. I wasn't lying when I said I would not be able to survive losing you two." 

"You have Mito.." Tobirama mumbles. 

"I would never be the same. Not even for her. I need you Tobi. Both of you. 'Cause who else is going to be brave enough to tell me when I am being an idiot? Or knock me into line when I am giving to much away to the other nations? There's nobody that can be you just like there's nobody that be Madara. And I think I may have said or done something that made you feel like I loved Madara more than you or that I would hate you for what's happened to him and that's just not true. I need you to know that. Even if I hate something you have done, I know that you haven't done it to be hurtful or careless on purpose and I would never hate you. I love you so much." 

Tobirama sighs and snuggles his brother, "I know that Anija. At least, I knew most of it. I guess... All this time I thought I was protecting the village and you from this great evil, but it turns out I was just pushing another person into an early grave. I have been trying so hard to put all that old hatred to behind me, but it seems I failed miserably. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he had died because of that, and I suppose I thought that if I wouldn't be able to, neither would you. That's all." 

Hashirama pulls away from him and smiles, "You are the dumbest genius I have ever met. I knew you weren't being mean just for the sake of it. If I thought that, I would have stood firmly against you. Still, I am at fault here too. I should have... Made you see the truth sooner. I was negligent and complacent. I thought things would get better on their own. I underestimated Madara's lack of social skills and people's tendency to fear what they don't understand." 

Tobirama stays silent noting the fondness and concern so clear in his brother's chakra for both him and Madara. He knows he made the right choice rescuing the Uchiha, if only for the relief it has brought Hashirama. 

"Anyway, I should get going. You rest here with Madara until I get back." 

"But I thought he needed to be monitored?" 

"He does, but you both desperately need rest. You were literally falling asleep on me a minute ago, you haven't done that since we were children Tobi. You pushed yourself really hard, and now you need sleep. Don't worry, his chakra will drop significantly if the patch comes loose. It'll be a sudden and sharp enough drop to alert your senses and wake you up given how good a sensor you are." 

"Alright." Tobirama agrees. 

Together, they carry Madara to Hashirama's bed. Once the Uchiha is settled, Tobirama crawls into the bed beside him. 

"I am not certain that is a great idea..." Hashirama trails. 

"It may not be, but he is injured enough that I'm reasonably certain even if he woke up confused and attacked me I would live. Besides, I heard him say he doesn't hate me anymore and I will sense a chakra drop quicker this way." 

The Hokage glances between the two of them and then sighs, "Alright. Get some rest. You know where to find me if you need me." 

Tobirama watches his brother leave. He should feel very wary being that he is alone in bed with Madara of all people, The Uchiha is liable to slip a kunai through his ribs at any moment and it would serve him right for being so foolish. Still, Madara has been thoroughly disarmed and would most likely want to monologue for at least ten minutes before killing Tobirama anyway, if he dained to try at all. So he puts a decent distance between himself and the sleeping Uchiha and then slowly drifts off himself. 

His last thought before he falls asleep is to hope there is a way he and Hashirama can reverse the damage done to the man sleeping beside him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Truth Which Set Them Free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so shocked about how many people like this! It makes me very very happy that you all like my story even after I have stared at my writing until I hate it lol.  
> I greatly appreciate all comments and kudos and I hope you like the new chapter.  
> P. S. You may have all noticed I bumped up the chapter count. That's because I had to cleave this chapter in half because it got too long and now I am working on the next one and that one is getting too long too. R.I.P. my soul.  
> P. P. S. My beta wanted me to mention a couple of songs she listens to while she spell checks my shoddy work so here they are:  
> Jack Stauber - Oh Klahoma  
> 8 Graves - SOS  
> Prelow - Simple Song  
> X Ambassadors - Unsteady  
> Highly Suspect - Bath Salts  
> Feed Me - Rat Trap
> 
> There were more, but I don't remember all of them and I am too lazy to check. My beta loves music, and she says these songs go with my work well. I haven't listened to them so I will leave it up to the masses. Enjoy!

Uchiha Madara awakens very slowly. At first he is incredibly befuddled by the pain carving its way in pulses through his chest. Was this not supposed to end on the blade of a lucky and overzealous mercenary? Was the continued ache merely divine punishment for having purposefully sought out his own death? He can't say for certain, though he is pointedly aware that this burn is much deeper than usual.

He experimentally tries to take a breath, and his lungs inflate normally, albeit with an even more intense flash of pain that forces him to breathe more shallowly. Its very odd that he still has to breathe in the afterlife. Or maybe he has been reincarnated? Surely not, surely whatever gods may exist would not be so merciless as to not let Madara have some semblance of rest before foisting him into a new life with his memory intact. He had hoped to at least get the opportunity to apologize to his brothers.

More than a little fed up with being confused, Madara cracks his eyes open. He immediately groans when his vision comes into focus. He is in Hashirama's house of all the places in the world. He has only been here a handful of times, but no one besides Hashirama would have such horrendous floral curtains or such an annoyingly copious amount of natural sun light pouring into their bedroom. The Uchiha lifts an arm, which proves to be an unreasonablely difficult task with how heavy his body feels, and feels for his hair finding the unruly mass right where it always has been.

So, Madara thinks to himself, I am alive then.

It is no doubt Hashirama's doing, no one else would have been able to heal the wound Madara distinctly remembers recieving. He almost finds it in himself to be angry about it, but if whatever team sent to retrieve his body had in fact brought him back alive somehow, there would be a cold day in hell before Hashirama just let him die. Madara's almost-anger dissipates at the thought. He cares about Hashirama and he is not oblivious enough to believe the Senju was not going to be saddened by his death.

Madara's senses begin coming into better focus, and he becomes keenly aware of an unbearable tingling sensation at the base of his neck. Someone is behind him for sure and now that he has realized it he won't be able to collect his thoughts until the problem is remedied. It takes much longer then he would have liked because his strength is all but nonexistent at the moment, but eventually he manages to turn himself over onto his other side.

The person beside him makes Madara befuddled all over again. Tobirama is who Hashirama left with him? Madara feels slightly amused at the creative threats his friend must have had to use to get Tobirama to agree. Still, even if Hashirama had made him stand watch over Madara, why in the hell would Senju Tobirama dain to share a bed with him? It makes no sense.

It seems that the Senju is fast asleep as well, which makes even less sense. Madara is aware the other man is at the top of the long list of people who hate and distrust him, so why is he letting his guard down like this? If Madara truly was the rabid warmonger Tobirama thought him to be, now would be a prime opportunity to murder him in his sleep and he is certain the Senju knew that.

Madara huffs, annoyed with the fact that he likely will not get satifactory answers to any of his questions and significantly more annoyed that the sharp aches which have plagued him for years refuse to dull. He tries to settle back down and fall asleep, but as always his mind is racing. Thoughts constantly flitter in and out of awareness and most of them Madara would rather not think of at all. He mashes his pillow against his ears as if that will give him the peace he has longed for since he was a child. It is, of course, to no avail and the burning desire for any form of comfort only becomes stronger.

Unable to stay still with nothing but his thoughts for a moment longer, Madara forces his aching body to move and eventually manages to get his legs over the side of the bed. He is not extremely sure what he is going to do, but he is certain anything will be better then laying in bed staring at Tobirama's white hair. With the first step of sitting up completed, he boldly pushes off the bed and onto his shaking legs.

Luckily, his knees don't immediately buckle under his weight.

Unluckily, he overestimated how much strength he had recouporated since his last battle that wasn't really, and he falls flat about ten seconds later.

"What on earth are you doing?" Drawls a familiar deep voice from the bed which is now above.

Madara would say that he had no particular plans if he could, but the sharp pulses of mind numbing pain prevent him from doing much of anything besides curling around his injury. He has definitely rebroken or retorn something inside. The upside to this is that if he focuses on the physical agony it drowns out the rest. That is both comforting and not so comforting to realize.

"Honestly. I didn't drive myself to exhaustion saving you just for you to kill yourself hours later in my brother's bedroom." Tobirama sighs. The sound of his voice is much closer and that is the only warning Madara receives before two pale hands enter his vision and healing chakra is wrapped around his injured side before he can flinch away from them.

If not for the fact that he is absolutely certain no one alive is capable of capturing him in one, Madara would swear he is in a genjutsu. It is the only reasonable explanation his pain addled brain can come up with for this.

"You have rebroken two ribs. What exactly were you hoping to accomplish in your condition?" Tobirama scolds.

Madara snorts. The world has been turned on its head. Senju Tobirama is healing his wound and scolding him. It is surreal. It is ridiculous, actually. Madara is not entirely sure what it is but he is sure that it can't possibly be the truth. He died in that battle and now he is in some weird kind of purgatory.

"Nothing." Madara says in answer, "Or anything. Whichever came first."

Tobirama archs an eyebrow, "That makes no sense."

Madara actually starts laughing at the irony of that statement. It sounds more like wheezing really but he takes what he can get.

"Are you okay?" the Senju asks with some sort of uncomfortable concern in his eyes.

Madara's humorless chuckling returns at the absurdity, "You are honestly going to sit there healing me and spouting some nonsense about being the one to 'rescue' me and in the same breath tell me I am the one not making sense?"

"... Well I do understand why you may doubt me, but I was the one who brought you back. If you require proof, try and name anyone else who would have been fast enough."

That point Madara must concede, but that doesn't explain the Senju's motives or the current situation. He shakes his head and remains silent. Madara is not stupid, and just because he does not hate this man like he used to doesn't mean he can trust him. Tobirama has to have some reason behind this, and Madara has no desire to let his guard down and get hurt when the true colors shine.

Tobirama heals him until the pain is just a dull throb and then retracts his hands, "I am no good at this."

Madara hauls himself into sitting position and presses gently on the newly mended area. Besides the remains of the original wound, nothing gives way and the pain remains dull like poking a bruise so he looks back to the Senju and simply states, "Seems like decent enough work to me."

"Not that. I meant..." Tobirama trails off and then sighs deeply. He then proceeds to be even more infuriatingly confusing when he bows before Madara with his forehead nearly touching the floor and continues with, "I have been inflexible and single minded and that has caused you immeasurable amounts of grief. I am very sorry for all the pain I brought you over the years. If you would give me the chance, I would like to correct my mistakes."

Izuna used to say that Madara made silly faces when he was thinking too hard about something. The little runt would snicker and swear he saw smoke coming out of Madara's ears. Madara knows that if his brother is still by some miracle watching over him, he is laughing his ass off at the face Madara is no doubt currently wearing. Because he has lived a long, painful life and he has never been this confounded before. Several emotions come to mind before Madara finally decides being pissed off is the easiest route.

"What the hell is going on?!" he snaps.

"Uh... I am apologizing?" Tobirama says as he sits back up and scoots away from Madara a bit.

He looks as if he is actually afraid of being struck, and it makes Madara positively furious. Even if he could hit the fool hard enough to do some damage, it wouldn't do any good and he is aware of that fact. Just like screaming and railing and raging as is his first instinct would not do (and has never done) him any good at all.

"WHY?! Why apologize?! Why risk your life trying to save mine?! Loyalty to your brother? Do you think it changes something? Did you think I was just trying to fake my death and run off? WHAT is your angle here?" Madara snarls. And for all he knows that yelling will do nothing but make him hurt worse, he can't stop because its the only thing he can actually do right now. He is so very tired and he has been deprived of his rest and he wants a legitimate reason.

"I- I do not have an angle. I just... It has been brought to my attention that you are not the threat I believed you to be. All citizens and shinobi of Konoha deserve to be treated fairly and I haven't been living up to that. I wanted the opportunity to fix that. And..." Tobirama says trailing off at the end.

Madara's anger evaporates as suddenly as it came upon him leaving him feeling empty and exhausted and he hits the back of his head against the wall he is sitting against, "And?"

"And Hashirama was devastated. He never would have been the same without you." Tobirama mumbles.

"... Idiocy must be a trait passed down the Senju line. Mokuton is not the Senju kekkai genkai, absolute, unadulterated, unfathomable stupidity is." Madara says dryly in reply, because that line of reasoning is literally the dumbest thing he has ever heard.

Tobirama doesn't reply which is fine with Madara. If he has to hear one more pity soaked word come out of the albino, he is liable to set the fool aflame. He is not certain what Hashirama did to make his brother behave this way, but the next time he sees that man he is going to wring his moronic neck until things start making sense. Until then...

"Knock me unconscious." Madara orders.

Tobirama looks up at him and scowls, "What?"

"I am tired but it seems my insomnia disagrees with me on the point that I need to sleep. So knock me unconscious."

"That is ridiculous, I could seriously hurt you."

"And your brother is the best medical shinobi alive so it won't matter if you do. Now hurry up."

"I am not going to hit you. If you want to try to sleep more, thats fine with me I am still recovering too. A bath may relax you enough to sleep and both of us are rather in need of one."

"I can't even walk on my own yet, as I proved conclusively earlier." Madara points out with a glare.

"Not surprising. You have a barely patched hole in your heart and you lost a lot of blood. Though I am not certain of the correlation that has to taking a bath?" Tobirama shoots back with a tilt of his head.

"If I can't walk, I would need help in and out of the tub."

"I can help you."

"Absolutely not!"

"Why? There is no shame needing help due to an injury."

"There is no way I am letting you help me bathe, Senju. I would not even allow Hashirama to do that."

"You have blood in your hair."

Madara opens his mouth to assert his position on the matter then snaps it back shut. He glances at the bed where he had been laying and sees faint red stains on the linen. He then lifts a matted strand of his hair to examine, and sure enough it is dried blood that has caused the matting. The Uchiha is not even certain that this is his own blood and the thought makes his nose crinkle in distaste.

Madara lets loose a long suffering sigh and briefly laments this man's ability to come up with valid points, "Fine. You win."

The experience is just as humiliating and awkward as Madara would expect. Tobirama has to help him limp to the tub and undo Hashirama's careful bandage work. He fights his way into the tub on his own, but the water has to be changed out twice before he gets all the grime out of his hair and that takes nearly two hours. Madara vehemently refuses to allow the other man help him dress so that takes another half hour. By the time he is finished and his wound is redressed, Madara is so exhausted that Tobirama has to practically carry him back to the bed.

And the icing on the cake is that Madara still can't quiet his mind enough to sleep, even after getting clean and having clean linens on the bed. He hopes that Tobirama will be over whatever mood swing has made him stop hating Madara when he returns from his own bath so that he can get a good hit to the head and rest for awhile.

He doesn't.

"Still awake?" Tobirama says.

"Yes. And I wouldn't have to be if you would just hit me." Madara growls. He is too tired to put any real heat in his words though. Maybe if he is lucky, he will pass out from exhaustion.

Tobirama sighs and goes about climbing into bed with Madara, "You will fall asleep eventually."

"Probably not. You don't have to share a bed with me you know." Madara says. It is not that he minds the company in particular, but he doesn't want Tobirama to feel obligated by whatever Hashirama has done any longer.

"I do actually. You have a weak heart right now and being close will alert me quicker if you need medical attention since I am not kneading chakra all night." The Senju explains.

"It is night? Won't Hashirama want his bed back?"

"He will be spending the night in the office. He got quite behind on work during our absence. You and I will be helping him catch up tomorrow after he treats you again."

There is something that slightly annoys Madara about the fact that there was no room in that statement for argument. Not because he is adverse to helping with paperwork or because he doesn't want to return to the administration, Tobirama's endless needling was the reason he had abandoned his place beside Hashirama in the first place, and without it there was no reason he couldn't return to it. No doubt, Hashirama would be over the moon if he came back and the rest of the workers in the tower were not brave enough to chip at Madara as the albino had. In addition, Madara genuinely likes the office, the mundane work kept him productive and served as an excellent distraction from his thoughts before, and it will no doubt do so again. No, Madara is annoyed because he still does not understand or trust the sudden change in Tobirama's behavior.

He settles himself with a huff, "Have it your way then."

"You may not believe me, but I truly am sorry." his companion says.

Madara doesn't respond to that. There is no way Tobirama truly means it, he is just trying to appease his brother after whatever Hashirama did to treaten him. Though, Madara does have to hand it to his friend, it must have been one hell of a threat for the albino to behave this way, and there is not a single thing Madara can think of that would have accomplished it. That is likely because he doesn't know the man very well though.

Long after his companion has fallen asleep, Madara remains awake in the same situation as he was hours prior, with unwanted thoughts racing as he stares at white hair. He is incredibly tired, but he knows he will not likely be getting sleep anytime soon. When troubled by these bouts of insomnia, they rarely relent until his body and mind are at the end of their endurance. Being a shinobi since he was a small child, Madara has unfortunately built up quite a bit of that.

Part of his trouble resting at the moment, Madara chooses to pin on Tobirama out of spite. His stubborn refusal to let Madara end his suffering, then the refusal to brain him with the butt of a kunai, and then his insistence on sharing a bed.

The last one calls forth memories which used to be warm but now only conjure yearning in Madara. Memories of Izuna, and his phobia of thunderstorms that he never grew out of. Of hushed pleas never to speak a word of it when his little brother crawled into his bed if the slightest threat of a storm hung in the air. He remembers the warmth he felt as he wrapped Izuna in his arms and the younger relaxed right into him and fell asleep, fears quelled. He remembers that closeness to another soul, that trust that he betrayed when he failed to keep Izuna safe, and he aches so deeply he can't breathe.

Madara wishes he had not been disarmed so he could take the butt of a kunai to his own head. Anything to stop his own reminders of his failure.

He turns his head slightly to glance at the man sleeping beside him and wonders if he can get some semblance of that warmth again, even if it will be just a hallow substitute for what he once knew. Madara battles with the idea for a long while before his desperation for comfort wins out. He inches closer to the other man slowly, as to not aggravate his injuries or wake Tobirama, until he is against the warm back of his companion. In the morning he can say that he was asleep and unaware of his actions, and no one would know that it is not true.

To Madara's great surprise, he does actually nod off to sleep that night, ironically cocooned in the warmth of a man who hates his guts.

Senju Hashirama yawns and stretches out his aching back. The cot in his office is no substitute for his nice warm bed, he concludes as he makes his way into his home where the chakra signitures of his brother and his best friend burn brightly.

When the Hokage enters the room however, to give Madara his follow up treatment he is greeted with a sight that makes him wish he had the sharingan so he could remember it in exquisite detail for the rest of his life. In his bed, his two precious people are laying snuggled together as if they had never been at each other's throats at all. Madara's mass of hair is all that can really be made out of him with the rest hidden in Tobirama's shoulder blade and it is so adorable Hashirama has to suppress a squeal.

He is loath to wake either of them when they are looking so peaceful, but Madara needs healing and Tobirama would be grumpy if Hashirama let him sleep in when there was so much work that needed to be done, so he strides over and gives his brother a slight shake.

"Tobi, wake up."

"Mmmmn. Five more minutes."

Hashirama chuckles. Most people would assume that of the two of the Senju brothers, the eldest would be hardest to wake in the morning. And they would be wrong. Tobirama sometimes had to be physically dragged out of bed in the morning. Not to mention his mood was normally about 300% more sour for at least an hour after he woke up. As responsible and organized as Hashirama's little brother is, he is definitely not a morning person.

"If you don't get up, I will make breakfast." Hashirama cooes. It is an adept threat, because he knows he is an absolutely horrendous cook and so does Tobirama.

Tobirama's eyes snap open, "I hate you."

"I am sure you do." Hashirama giggles, "Also, what happened last night? You two look a lot chummier than I expected."

"It was a disaster. I tried to apologize and he exploded. And then I helped him bathe and he exploded some more. And... Why is he cuddling me?" Tobirama mutters looking comically confused.

"I don't know. But it is adorable!!! I wish I had a camera." Hashirama says with a smile.

"I hate you." his brother says once more.

"Yes, yes, I know. I am awful. Now go to my kitchen and start on breakfast you grump. I will get Madara fixed up while you do."

Tobirama grumbles but drags himself out of bed to do as told.

Madara stirs once his human teddy bear is gone and Hashirama smiles fondly.

"Come on Madara, you wake up too." Hashirama says pulling the covers away from the other man.

Madara sighs and cracks an eye open.

"Good morning sleepy head."

"No such thing."

"Aw don't be like that!"

Madara glares at him, but even that seems half-hearted and Hashirama sighs. He strips the borrowed shirt of Madara and begins undoing the bandages around the wound. Once finished, he puts a glowing hand to it to examine Madara's heart.

"The patch on your heart is holding up well. I will heal it some more to increase the thickness and improve the functionality." Hashirama mumbles mostly to himself. He gets in his own little world when he heals people sometimes.

He restores Madara's heart and then heals ththe rest to a mere pink scar. Some part of Hashirama silently wishes it were so easy to heal all sorts of wounds. He knows better. Madara is pinning him now with a look that seems both understanding and expectant.

"I am sorry. I couldn't let go. I let him go out on your heels." Hashirama whispers as a form of explanation.

"So he ran after me intending to retrieve more than a corpse, is that it?" Madara says.

"Yes. I know it is not what you wanted. But he was adamant, I couldn't stop him. I can't really say I wanted to very badly... I missed you so much in the first hour I almost went myself."

"Hn. It is as I said before, you are the only one stupid enough to mourn for me. Your brother on the other hand is not stupid. He has despised me the entire time I have known him, and he had no reason to be 'adamant,' as you put it, about my retrieval. To my knowledge that is. Care to enlighten me, I am awfully confused." Madara replies in a calculated tone.

Hashirama takes a deep breath. Madara will know immediately if he tries to lie. But the truth is sure to cause some sort of chaos even if he is not certain which sort. Maybe he didn't think the whole spying thing through. Regardless, he has no choice but to tell the whole truth now so he does. He explains the mission he gave Tobi, the thing about the cat, and the reasons why Tobi wanted so badly to bring Madara home. When he is finished, he waits in silence for Madara's reaction, every second that drags on making him more anxious.

Finally Madara growls from under his bangs, "You realize that is an extreme encroachment on my privacy and trust, correct?"

"I know. And I understand if you are angry with me. I just was so tired of listening to him talk about things he did not understand at all! He would not listen I thought... I thought if he saw then..."

"You do not think. Therein lies the problem. You sent someone into my personal matters without telling me, which is to say nothing of the fact that it was someone who simply wanted to find something to use against me to be rid of me! Just because he pities me now instead means nothing!"

"...So you are angry then." Hashirama says sheepishly. 

Madara snaps his gaze up his sharingan whirling and his face twisted, "Of course I am! I am pissed off. I am hurt. I cannot fucking fathom why you thought that was even remotely a good course of action!"

Hashirama opens his mouth hoping to say something to calm Madara down but he is immediately interrupted.

"I am not finished." Madara snaps and Hashirama stays silent, "You betrayed my trust, and I am more than angry about it. But it doesn't matter because I am alive. I am still here. I have to continue to endure it seems, I've got nothing to lose but you and I am not willing to do that over one act that I am certain was not one of malice. So even if I am angry, amongst other things, I will choose to let that go instead of letting it consume me."

Hashirama releases a breath he had not realised he was holding. A long time ago something like this would have been enough to splinter their friendship. It is truly a testament to how far Madara has come over the years.

"I am sorry. I did not consider your feelings about it." the Hokage apologizes anyway.

Madara waves a hand, "It's fine."

"What about... Everthing else?" Hashirama asks.

"What do you mean?" 

"You know. Everything. I don't want to have to send you to your death again the next time a big mission comes in. It was hard enough once, but twice... I want to make things better. I want you to be happy again. You deserve to be happy. And Tobi... He is willing to try now too. I know I won't have a lot of free time once Mito moves in, but he will. And you can come to the tower to work as well! You won't be alone all the time anymore..." 

".... Hashirama, you are really insufferablely naive. I cannot claim to know much about your brother, and I suppose I cannot pass judgement on the matter until I have at least tried. At the same time, I meant what I said when I left, I can't continue as I was."

"You won't have to." A new voice chimes in from the doorway.

"If it isn't the spy himself," Madara quips.

"Say what you want, but that 'spying' opened my eyes. I will not continue to let grudges from the past and misunderstandings cloud my judgement. You are not a malicious soul anymore, I know that now. All I am asking for is a second chance. for both of us." Tobirama says.

Hashirama's eyes get a bit misty and he smiles at his brother before turning his gaze to Madara.

"A second chance, huh?... Alright. It isn't like my life could get much worse." Madara sighs.

Hashirama tackles him in a hug. Madara leans into as subtly as he can.

"Breakfast. Kitchen. Now. We have a lot of work to finish. All three of us." Tobirama says with finalty. 

Hashirama feels lighter than he has in years as he drags Madara behind him and talks about every bright thing he can think of. He sees the faintest smile gracing Madara's lips and is filled with hope for the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Calm Before the Storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I am back! I apologize for the wait, life has been hard for me lately. I also apologize for this short chapter but I couldn't find a letter place to cut it so... 😑
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

Tobirama is not at all surprised at the difficulty of reintroducing Madara into the Hokage's worksapce.

It is not that the Uchiha is bad at the work part of the job. On the contrary, Madara is well informed (he had kept up with all the politics while he was isolating himself, though Tobirama has no idea how.) and he has a good steady work ethic which renders him more productive than Hashirama on the average day.

He also possesses an uncanny ability to shut down Hashirama's ridiculousness before it truly begins. That is something not even Tobirama could manage most of the time, and he never ceases to marvel at how quickly and easily Madara can do it with a single well placed glare.

The difficulty comes from sheer awkwardness, however strange that may seem. When Hashirama is there, it is mostly okay. He and Madara have a trusting ease in their relationship, the same kind Tobirama has with his brother. But inevitably, when the Hokage is pulled away to other duties and doesn't need Tobirama with him, he is alone with Madara. And without fail, the other man immediately closes off. The openness he has with Hashirama vanishes without a trace and Tobirama has no idea how to gain access to his interior.

It drives him insane, the not knowing. Not knowing how to fix things. Not knowing why he wants to so incredibly badly. Tobirama, being the man that he is, is used to always knowing. What he doesn't know, he can learn or invent. Tobirama always adapts and overcomes, but in this task, it seems that ability is irrelevant.

Madara, for his part, seems unbothered by the things that are bothering Tobirama. When they are left alone, he continues on silently working only pausing to run a few things by Tobirama to double check himself. That too, begins to grate on the Senju. Why will that man not just make sense for once in his life? Why must he always be the wrench in Tobirama's otherwise smooth streamlined day?

Finally, after a week and a half, Tobirama breaks down and turns to the only certain solution to the problem, Hashirama. He manages to pull his brother aside away from his wife-to-be for the first time since she moved to Konoha three days ago, but once he has the Hokage's full attention he finds it hard to word the question correctly. His hesitamce, of course, only causes Hashirama to become worried.

"Tobi? What... What did you want to talk about?" Hashirama asks seeming almost tentative.

Tobirama drums his fingers against his tea cup, "Madara."

Hashirama frowns, and Tobirama doesn't blame him, he doesn't have a great track record where the Uchiha is concerned.

"Alright. I am listening." he says slowly.

Tobirama sighs and decides there is no way to word the question without sounding like an idiot, "I just... I want to be able to get to know him. But he just won't let me in. How can I get him to open up? He needs someone, I know that..."

Hashirama blinks slowly once and then bursts into laughter.

"Wha- Don't laugh at me! It is already infuriating and embarassing enough!" Tobirama shouts indignantly.

"I'm not, I'm not!" Hashirama says between giggles, "I swear! Wow Tobi, you are hopeless."

Tobirama crosses his arms and turns away to hide his burning cheeks, "And you are completely unhelpful."

"Have you tried just... talking to him?"

"About what?" Tobirama snaps, "He will barely talk to me at all."

"He doesn't think you want him to. Look, all you have to do is show him you care. Madara seems detached and closed off, but he does that because he doesn't want to get hurt anymore. Too many people have said too many hurtful things to him when he tried to reach out so now he just won't. You have to reach out to him. A lot. Be relentless."

"Ugh. I dont know how. I have never had to."

"How badly do you want to?"

"What?"

"How badly do you want to get through to Madara?"

"I..."

"Because he will make you work for it. He will make you so frustrated with him that you will never want to look at him again, because he can not afford to let you or anybody else in only to be hurt."

Tobirama can't think of anything to say and the silence stretches between them for a long time. It is Hashirama who finally breaks it.

"Tobirama, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

The younger looks questioningly at his brother not entirely understanding what that question means.

"What I mean is... well it is obvious that you have been thinking about this a lot, and you definitely care about getting to know Madara, but why? The reason behind it is going to make all the difference, because that is what Madara will want."

Tobirama considers that for a bit before answering, "Several reasons I suppose. But mainly... for so long he was the biggest threat in my world. But I did not live in the world I thought I did. Now that I know that, it makes me uneasy. I want to know who he really is, so that I will know my world again."

"Strange, that you would equate Madara to your sense of security." Hashirama notes in a voice that sounds both amused and mischievous.

"You think so? I don't. Whether I like it or not, Madara has always played a major role in my life. As an enemy before. I was always trying to stay ontop of him, be one step ahead. That is gone now, but he is still here. Don't you understand how confusing, and awkward that shift is?" Tobirama mumbles.

"Hopeless."

"Maybe."

"Just talk to him, will you? If you really want to throw him for a loop, ask him for help. That will get his attention for sure."

"Alright, I will do that."

"Great! Now I have wedding planning to do so I have to go, but one more bit of advice before I do." Hashirama annonces as he jumps to his feet, "Don't worry too much. You and Madara are actually very similar, so as long as you are willing to put in some effort, you will be buddies in no time!"

Tobirama scowls at the back of his brother's head as he leaves. Hashirama is ridiculous at times.

The next day, after much rationalizing and almost talking himself out of it, Tobirama strides up to the Uchiha with purpose and plops several scrolls down on Madara's desk. He notes that his brother has already left for his late afternoon counsil meeting which is for the best. The Uchiha looks at the scrolls for a minute and then looks up at Tobirama in a amusingly confused and obviously annoyed manner.

Tobirama takes a deep breath and then charges forward, "I need your help."

"... What?" Madara asks with a suspicious squint.

"I need your help with this project," Tobirama repeats, "I have been working on it for a long time, but I cant quite... hammer out all the details. It is very sensitive and one mistake could be detrimental to the wellbeing of the village as a whole. It has been giving me fits so I thought... two heads are better than one."

Madara is silent for so long Tobirama thinks he is going to refuse but eventually he reaches for a scroll and quietly asks, "If it is so vital then why not let the Hokage be your second head?"

"He knows about it," Tobirama says glancing over to his brother's empty desk, "But his input on the matter was not very helpful I am afraid."

"What is this?" Madara says scowling at the document in his hands.

"It is the ground work for the police force I want to implement. We need a faction in the village strictly to keep the peace and enforce laws. It would be not only doing so for the civilians but also for the council and the Hokage. As such, it is a very important faction. I thought it would be best for your clan to be in charge of it..." Tobirama explains.

He wishes he understood his nervousness at the moment. The Madara he knows would hate the idea and start yelling immediately. But that Madara doesn't exist, not really, so the real man's reaction could be anything. Maybe that is why his heart is pounding.

Madara looks over the documents carefully then sets them down and gives Tobirama an unreadable look, "So do you want my honest opinion?"

"Of course."

"Alright then. This plan will only work in the short term." Madara says.

"What do you mean?"

"Letting one clan run a faction such as this one is ill advised even if that clan isn't already one that is widely mistrusted. Think about those who enforce laws in primarily civilian clans and how they are regarded as a whole in those clans. It is human nature to doubt and fear those who have power over you. Now project all of that doubt and fear onto a single clan."

Put that way... Tobirama groans and plops down into a chair. He had not considered that. This was his plan to integrate the Uchiha better too now he has to start over.

"I am glad you brought this to me before implementing it, it would have been detrimental as you put it. The Uchiha are not exactly a rational clan by nature, future generations would have thought it was your intention to ostracize them further with this." Madara says quietly.

Tobirama looks up at him and feels that he must ask, "You don't think that?"

Madara's gaze falls on him and it is piercing and calculating, "Hn... No. Not strictly. I think you simply have put no effort into undertanding how the Uchiha as a whole function. I also think that you are part of the group who mistrusts them without reason and that clouds your judgement on matters that concern them."

"I.. am trying to work on that. It may be too late though, most of them already consider me an enemy."

"Rightfully so. Before that is. Now... well I suppose that depends on your current intentions." and even though he hasn't phased it as a question, Tobirama knows Madara wants an answer.

He carefully crafts his answer before replying, "I want to integrate the Uchiha. Thus far, they have remained in their own little bubble, barely interacting with the other clans in the village and not participating in the groundwork for the academy and... I just don't want them to have a fissure too deep between them and the village. I never want anyone to have a cause to look at someone from your clan through the same lens as I looked at you through. That is a real possibility if they don't allow others to get to know them."

"I see. I suppose if you are being honest then I have actually done something good for my clan, indirectly. Imagine that. I am as much of a curse on them as I thought."

"What?"

Madara just shakes his head, "I have a few ideas to fix your police force, if you would like to hear them."

Tobirama breifly considers demanding answers on Madara's previous statement but decides that is probably not a productive idea, "Alright. Why don't we talk about it over tea? All of those documents have to be completely rewritten I am afraid and I would much rather put it together in comfort."

"You did hear me say ideas, right? I don't have a concrete plan for you Senju. There is little need to start redrafting the documents right now."

"You immediately pointed out the fatal flaw in my original plan and you had just skimmed it and heard me make a few comments. That plan took me weeks, and several others looked it over and missed the flaw as well. I am certain whatever you have to say will be worth recording. Between the two of us, it should be simple to work out just the police force. The other problem I was trying to solve with it... well we can brainstorm on that too. You know more about the Uchiha than me."

Madara stares at him for a very long time and Tobirama feels as if he is being weighed and measured for a role he doesn't even understand.

"Alright Senju, I will humor you. But you had better have good tea at your place, or else I will pour it in your lap." Madara says finally.

"You can call me by my first name you know. Also, I meant more like a tea house?"

"I don't spend prolonged periods of time in public spaces, Senju." Madara drawls making sure to draw out the last word in a way that made Tobirama want to throttle him.

"Maybe you should. It is the only way to get the people used to you." Tobirama says.

"Oh yeah? And maybe YOU should go drown yourself in that blasted koi pond Hashirama loves so much! Or you could make another asinine comment like that one and I will do it FOR you! Take your pick!" Madara snarls viciously. He then brushes past Tobirama and stomps into the hallway. Tobirama tries to stop him from leaving but is thoroughly ignored.

Complete failure number one then. He takes a moment to hope he gets better at this and then sits down to brainstorm ideas for his growing sets of problems. Eventually, after getting nowhere, he gives up and goes to his lab. Science is always logical and rational, unlike people, and will never fail to ease his nerves.

The next day makes Tobirama want to rip his own hair out. Madara completely ignores him for the entire day. The man is frigid at best, even towards Hashirama. It only takes until lunch time for it to become so infuriating it is nearly unbearable.

Then, abruptly, the Uchiha stands up and says, "I am leaving for the day." and sweeps out the door without waiting for a reply.

Hashirama sighs deflating from his attemt to stop his friend. He chews his lip as he returns to work and Tobirama knows immediately by that face and the man's chakra he is deeply unsettled.

"What is wrong anija?" Tobirama asks worry coming to the surface for his brother.

"Madara is upset. Really upset. I haven't seen him like this since Izuna..." Hashirama replies tapping his pen against his desk, "I... I should go talk to him."

Tobirama jumps up, "I will."

"Huh?"

"Let me try first."

The hokage stares at him blankly for a few long minutes before answering, "Alright Tobi. Please just try not to make it worse. He is really down this time."

Tobirama nods and leaves the tower. He follows Madara's chakra out into the woods. He is slightly worried that what he said yesterday is to blame for Madara's slump. He had meant the comment to be helpful but he can see how it could have been taken the wrong way.

As he breaks the treeline he notices Madara has come to visit a grave. One Tobirama is sure he made himself for his brother. One that likely he is the only one to visit and maintain. Madara is hunched beside the grave and suddenly, Tobirama feels very, very unwelcome.

"What is it, Senju?" Madara says in a voice terrifyingly devoid of emotion.

All of Tobirama's thoughts of using Hiraishin to flee leave him. He could go to his brother and send him here instead, but he is afraid that this man, so drained of any semblance of hope, would slit his own throat before Hashirama got here. The glint of the kunai in Madara's hand only solidifies that fear.

"You... left in a hurry. I wanted to see what the fuss was about." Tobirama says walking a little closer.

Madara grips the weapon in his hands so tightly his gloves squeak in protest, "What? Afraid I was about to spring my trap on you? Perhaps you thought I was stealing information or hunting children? Sorry to disappoint you, I only left so I could apologize to my brother."

Tobirama's heart sinks, "Apologize for what?"

"After I cooled down enough to think clearly yesterday, I considered what you said. I thought there was a bit of truth in it, so I decided to try it again. I wasn't going to try the open village of course, but I went to a little tea house in the Uchiha compound. No one would even look at me as usual unless it was to glare at my back. My own clan, my family, people I have known since I first learned to walk, and they can't even tolerate my presence. The only thing Izuna asked me to do for him while he was dying was to take care of our clan, to make sure they were happy and healthy, and I failed him again. I have done nothing but fail my whole life, you killed the wrong brother, Senju."

"Izuna couldn't see the future. If he could see what they are doing to you now, wouldn't he want you to move on?"

"Who knows? Probably not. I am sure he despises me just as much as the rest."

Tobirama suddenly has an incredibly stupid idea. A horrible, awful idea that will either help Madara out of his depression or shove him so deep into it that no one will be able to dig him out. Normally, he would have rationalized himself out of it, but in this case his mouth moves before his brain.

"What if you could ask him?"

The air around Madara shifts a bit and he looks at Tobirama for the first time confusion and rage dueling in his eyes, "Don't patronize me, Senju."

Tobirama takes a deep breath, "I'm not. I... I invented a Jutsu years ago that is used to reanimate the dead. Hashirama was unbelievably furious when he found out. Originally I wanted to bring my little brothers back but... well aside from the fact that Hashirama forbade it, it wouldn't have worked like that anyway. The Jutsu can only manage to bring a soul back in a barely human form and even then it requires a live sacrifice but I... You could talk to him one more time at least. If you want to."

Madara's mouth opens and closes several times before he finally comes up with an answer, "What do I have to do?"

"I need a DNA sample. I can handle the rest." Tobirama replies.

This is such a bad idea.

"Izuna was burned," Madara says simply seeming to deflate a bit.

Tobirama considers that for a second, "You have his eyes, don't you? I only need a single cell."

A terrible, awful, horrible idea.

"... Alright. When should I meet you? And where?" Madara asks.

"My lab. After we are done in the tower for the day I will take you there."

But... If it works, it will change eveything. It will save Madara from himself, make amends, and allow Hashirama to stop worrying about the Uchiha. And to that end, Tobirama will take a page out of his brother's book and gamble a bit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brother Whose Spirit Remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter again, but I really liked the ending the way it was. Even if the rest it awful. R.I.P. my soul
> 
> Also I can't even say for sure how many chapters this will have. DAMN YOU PLOT!!! 
> 
> I promise a longer chapter next time but for now, enjoy!

Madara finds it hard to distract himself from his emotions with work as he normally does. It was hard earlier, and it is niegh impossible now. Guilt, grief, and fear roll through his mind mercilessly and he can't concentrate. Still, the quicker they get done with the days work, the quicker he could face Izuna's wrath.

He is certain Izuna hates him for everything he has done, everything he has failed to do, and he will face whatever judgement his brother deems fit.

He spares a glance at Hashirama. He knows his friend has noticed that something is wrong, both Madara and Tobirama have been silent the entire time since they returned, but he chooses not to mention it. He chatters occasionally, seemingly undisturbed by the lack of respose. Madara finds comfort in it as always.

As the three of them are leaving for the night, Hashirama says softly, "Both of you be careful."

Madara nods, unsurprised that Hashirama knows they are up to something. Though he is the biggest fool on the planet at times, Hashirama is also very perceptive and had an excellent affinity for spotting people who were up to something. He wouldn't be breathing if that wasn't so. For a second, Madara fears that his friend may try to stop their plans, but he just smiles sadly and taps them bothe on the shoulder. Hashirama leaves them after that and Madara and Tobirama make their way in silence to the lab on the farthest edge of the village hidden in a patch of trees.

"Watch your step." Tobirama says as they enter.

Madara looks around the place and finds it surprisingly messy looking. Various paperwork is strewn about on the tables, scrolls and the like piled up at random, questionable beakers filled with equally untrustworthy liquids dot the premises and other unrecognizable objects are mixed into the chaos. Madara wrinkles his nose and tamps down the urge to organize the place before following.

"Didn't you say you needed a live sacrifice?" Madara asks as Tobirama starts moving things about.

"I had a summon take care of that bit." Tobirama replies smoothly, "Come here so I can collect a bit of DNA."

Madara obeys and repeats a mantra of 'for Izuna' as Tobirama hovers a needle torturously close to his right eye. It's over in a second and the Uchiha tenses as a rather large snow leopard summon drags in an unconscious shinobi.

"Uh, Senju-"

"He is a prisoner taken in for murdering civilians. I never said I had extremely strict morals but I will claim to having at least a semblance of them."

Madara falls silent and watches the setup after that. Despite his messy workspace, the Senju seems rather organized in the way he works.

Finally he puts the prisoner in the center of the room and steps back to activate his jutsu. Just before he does he turns to Madara with and unreadable look "Ready?"

"Yes." Madara whispers.

Tobirama goes through several handsigns and then activates his technique. The room begins to shake and a bright glow overtakes the man in the center of the room. Madara can't decide if he is more terrified that it won't work, or that it will.

The glow subsides and in the middle of the room stands...

Uchiha Izuna is confused to say the least. His memory is fuzzy, his entire body hurts like absolute hell and to top it all off he has no goddamn idea where he is. Great.

He opens his eyes slowly and stares at his hands. They seem... paler?

"Wha... Who..." He looks up finally coming into awareness enough to notice other presences. The first person he sees is Senju Tobriama and rage overtakes his mind.

He begins advancing on the albino asshole as he grinds out, "YOU! How dare you! What have you done to me you vile abhorent basta-"

"Izuna." says a voice that is distictly not Tobirama.

Izuna whips around to face it and finds someone he would recognize anywhere regardless of the fact that he has lost a significant amount of weight and looks like death warmed over, "Madara?"

Madara chokes, presumably on tears, and staggers forward until he falls to a kneel at Izuna's feet where he curls in on himself trembling, "I'm sorry. I failed. I did this. I should have- I didn't want to disturb you I promise but... I'm sorry."

Izuna opens his mouth but no sound escapes. Hazy memories begin to clear. His wound. Dying in that room with Madara sobbing over him. Being unable to pass over the Veil because he just couldn't fathom leaving his devastated brother behind. Madara going on a suicidal rampage on Hashirama. Madara forming peace with the Senju. Anger. So much anger that his brother would go against his dying wish but then... seeing the village built. Seeing his clan find a place there. Watching them ignore his brother as he grieved on his own. Watching Madara become isolated to the point Izuna had tried his damndest to reach out and give his brother any sort of comfort. And now.. Madara trembling on the ground in shambles, barely even a shell of the man Izuna knows he is.

"Hey," Izuna mumbles as he kneels down to Madara's level. He places a gentle hand in his brother's long black hair, "It's okay."

"No. It's not. I let you die. I failed you. I should have died instead."

"It wasn't your fault. There was nothing else you could have done."

"I couldn't keep my promise either. I.. I betrayed your dying wish..."

"You did great, aniki, really. Our clan has been very ungrateful, but you knew peace was the best option and lead them to it whether they appreciate it or not. I admit, I was closed-minded when I was alive. I should have heard you out about the peace talks. Maybe then... I could still be by your side, and you wouldn't have had to suffer as much as you have."

Madara looks up at him with disbelief shining in his sharingan red eyes. As if Izuna would ever blame his older brother for any of this after what he has seen.

"You're an idiot." Izuna says.

"Am not." Madara tosses back albeit a bit half-heartedly.

"Did you think I hated you? Even once?" Izuna challenges.

Madara's gaze returns to the floor.

"Idiot~" Izuna sing-songs as he hugs his brother tightly. He frowns as he realizes how thin Madara really is. Izuna can feel every bump of his brother's spine through his shirt and count all his ribs. Still, Madara melts into him easily and Izuna can sense the relief rolling off of him so he doesn't dwell on it for the moment.

"I never blamed you. I never thought badly of you for what you did after I died. If there's anyone I am pissed at, it's our clan. When I told you to take care of them, it was because I assumed they were going to take care of you back. Obviously they didn't, and you're a big huge moron whose gonna hang on every word I say when I'm gone so listen up!" Izuna says pushing back so he can look Madara in the eyes, "Be happy. That's all I wanna see. Watching you miserable makes me miserable too. So be happy. Forget the Uchiha. Forget the village if you have to. Leave and find people who'll love you like you deserve to be loved, if that's what it takes. And for the sake of the Kami, don't die until its really your time to go. You've got so much life left to live and if you cut it short, I'll dunk you into a ghostly koi pond and kick your ass back to life."

Madara smiles like Izuna hasn't seen in ages, "Ok Izu."

"That's more like it. Oh! One more thing!"

"Yes?"

"Get a haircut. Like a significant one. Seriously, you look like a baby werewolf. Or a really fluffly porcupine. It's horrendous."

That draws out a laugh that warms Izuna's heart (His... metaphorical heart? It doesn't seem he has one right now physically.)

Madara tilts his head and says, "Nice try, but I'm still not getting it cut short because you still haven't beaten me in a spar."

"Ah well. It was worth a shot."

"I am sorry I had you brought back like this. I shouldn't have disturbed your rest." Madara says.

"Bah! I was incredibly bored anyway. You have my express permission to resurrect me anytime you need a good whack on the back of the head. I am still hoping this is temporary. Though, I would like to know how you did it at all. I didn't know it was possible."

Madara points and Izuna turns to the albino who shifts in his place awkwardly. The younger Uchiha had forgotten he was there.

"I invented the technique to try and bring my brothers back. It is temporary you'll be released as soon as I activate the seals again. Put simply, it uses a bit of your DNA as both a formula and a beacon to create a new body and call your soul to it. It also requires a live sacrifice, and it can be weaponized by wiping the memory of the summoned dead and using a seal to control them. Both steps which I skipped in this case. The created body is not nearly as good as your living one was, and it requires a live sacrifice, which are two of the many reasons it is forbidden now." Tobirama explains in halting sentences.

Izuna finds it amusing to see his old enemy/rival/killer so out of sorts, "Ah. Well I guess that's why I feel like shit."

"Yes, that is probably it."

Madara grabs Izuna's hand, "Are you ready to go back now?" he asks quietly.

"Are you? I will stay for however long it takes to get some sense back in you. I'd hate to have to beat it in but I will."

Madara chuckles, "I will be alright now I think."

"You sure?" Izuna asks.

Madara presses their foreheads together, "... Yes, I am sure. Say hi to the others for me if you can."

"Sure thing aniki. I love you. Always remember that."

Izuna distantly registers Tobirama weaving sighs until the jutsu is released and it is like being freed from a pool of thick black tar as his soul sheds the shambling body he was in. He looks down on his brother and knows for sure deep inside that he really will be alright this time. Finally at peace, Uchiha Izuna crosses the Veil of the afterlife.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fools Who Search Endlessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I'm not dead! Isn't that wonderful! 
> 
> *Cricket noises*
> 
> Sorry?
> 
> *More cricket noises*
> 
> Haha! Well this chapter is weird.... it feels... rushed to me??? Maybe??? I have been agonizing over it off and on for the whole time I have been gone and I just can't get it right because it won't stop hurting me. So! I'm posting it now as is so I can move on with the understanding that it is likely to undergo extreme revision. Also, my Beta is sick so she hasn't read it yet so there will be that edit as soon as she gets back because I suck at being alive so I'm sure there are mistakes. Anyway all of that said, enjoy I hope??

Tobirama watches Madara as the last of the light from Izuna's departure fades. The Uchiha is thin and pale of course, and tears slide down his cheeks as he looks absently at the man they sacrificed. Even so, his shoulders are squared and his regal posture has returned. The albino waits in silence for the other man to break free of his stupor.

"Thank you." is all Madara eventually says.

Tobirama nods once in acknowledgment and then watches Madara leave. He hopes he made the right decision, but as of now he doesn't have enough information to tell. He stews over it as he cleans up the night's mess. No sleep comes to him for the rest of the night.

Morning comes all too soon, and Tobirama gets up to meet his brother for breakfast. Today, Mito is supposed to arrive in the village, and tomorrow she and Hashirama are to be married. Tobirama is not surprised when he walks into Hashirama's office and finds that Madara is late for their usual morning work.

He is also unsurprised when his brother looks him dead in the eye and asks, "What happened?"

"Before I tell you, promise me you will stay calm. Your wife to be is going to arrive later, and you cannot be out of sorts when she and her escort arrive. I say this because I am genuinely uncertain if we will see Madara at all today." Tobirama explains.

He had prepared for this conversation last night while he was unable to find rest. Undoubtedly, Hashirama knew that he was up to something with Madara when they left together, but Tobirama is certain the other man has no clue what, otherwise he would have stopped them from doing it.

"Tell me."

Tobirama takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves, "I used Edo Tensei to revive Izuna."

Hashirama gapes at him for a long moment, before his chakra flares with anger, "You did what?"

"I had to. Madara needed to talk to his brother." Tobirama says as he unconsciously takes a step back.

"Tobirama... That was an incrediblely stupid thing to do." Hashirama moans.

"I know."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I found him kneeling at a grave yesterday. One he made for Izuna even though he had no body to put to rest there and he had no plans to leave there alive. I had to do something to pull him away from the edge he was teetering on. It was the only way I could think of."

Hashirama just stares at him and he shifts under the scrutiny.

"If I had felt there was another way I-"

"Another way to what?" demands a voice from the doorway.

Tobirama whips around to find Madara leaned casually against the doorframe and his breath hitches. Instead of his normal high collar attire, Madara is dressed in a simple sleeveless shirt and loose fitting pants. He looks more ready for training than the work day, and Tobirama can't quite wrap his head around what he is currently experiencing. He feels warm, his heart is racing, and his mouth is dry. Maybe it's poison?

"Well?" Madara asks as he impatiently tilts his head towards the Senju brothers.

Tobirama's brain short circuits and all he can come up with is, "Uhm..."

Madara gives him a strange look.

"Madara!" Hashirama exclaims as oblivious as ever. He gets up and moves around the desk before making a beeline for the Uchiha, "Are you okay?"

"No, I can't say that I am." Madara sighs. He glances at Tobirama before continuing, "But I am... better. At least."

Hashirama wraps Madara in a hug that lifts the other onto his toes, "I'm so glad."

"Put me down you dolt." Madara says in a tone obviously more amused than annoyed.

Hashirama does and takes a step back. Tobirama shakes himself out of his daze and clears his throat.

"Yes, well. We are both happy to see you. But you can't honestly be planning on meeting Mito's convoy while wearing that." he says.

Madara scoffs, "Why not? I thought I looked rather fetching."

Hashirama groans, "Madaraaaaa! Mito is a princess, you need to dress formally when we meet her."

"Oh relax. This is the only thing I own that doesn't bear the crest of the Uchiha clan. I will not be with you today, and I promise to dress nicely at your wedding tomorrow." Madara huffs with a wave of his hand.

Tobirama has to push aside the realization that Madara had just teased him a moment ago to unpack what the man had just said, "What do you mean? Why would you not want to wear your clan's crest?"

Madara looks down at his feet his hair falling to shield his face, "Not my clan anymore. I resigned as clan head. Hikaku took my place and his first move was to please the elders and strip me of the Uchiha name entirely."

Hashirama gasps looking truly horrified. Tobirama can't blame him, that was a truely cruel fate. To be thrown out of his own clan the minute he gave up leadership...

"Madara, I'm so sorry.." The hokage mumbles.

"Don't be. They have been trying to find a way to remove me for years now. If they want to be rid of me that badly, then I may as well take the hint that I am not wanted and move on, right?" Madara says after a deep breath.

"Right..." Hashirama says slowly.

"Anyway, I did come here for a reason if you would like to hear it." Madara snips.

"Oh. Yes of course, what's on your mind?" Hashirama says.

Madara takes a scroll out of his shirt and steps forward from his perch against the door frame to hold it out to Tobirama, "Here."

Tobirama looks at it and then turns his confused gaze back to Madara.

"Notes. I am assuming you are still working on the whole police force conundrum. You said my thoughts would be worth recording so I recorded them for you. If you have questions or would like someone to trade ideas with in the future, I would have no problem sitting down with you and having a cup of tea." the raven says softly.

Tobirama has to actively try not to zone out like he did earlier. The olive branch has been extended and he reaches up carefully to take hold of it.

"Thank you." he replies. He pointedly ignores Hashirama's misty doe eyes and bright smile.

"Also," Madara drawls as he walks back towards the door, "you'll not be able to call me 'that Uchiha' anymore. So I suppose it is only fair I stop calling you 'Senju.' But I have a slight problem."

Tobirama furrows his brow in confusion, "What?"

Madara turns halfway wearing a smirk, "I cannot for the life of me remember what your name is."

Tobirama sputters aloud. Hashirama chokes in his attempt to hold in laughter.. The younger Senju then realizes he was being teased again and wonders where Madara's sudden playfulness came from.

"I didn't realize you were so forgetful. Maybe I should kick it into your thick skull." Tobirama growls.

"I would certainly enjoy watching you try." Madara fires right back before taking his leave.

Tobirama looks at his brother pleadingly and gestures vaguely in the direction Madara walked away in.

Hashirama just laughs and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Remember when you said you wanted him to let you in?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations, you're in. Maybe I should have told you to be careful what you wish for."

"Maybe."

"You really helped him. He seems so much... lighter. But if you ever use that jutsu again, I swear I'll... Well I haven't figured it out yet but it will be bad!"

"Understood."

Normally being reprimanded by his brother would make Tobirama both irritated and saddened, but as he tucks the scroll Madara gave him away for later he can't bring himself to feel anything but wonder. That man is an anomaly in every possible way.

"Helllloooo! Earth to Tobirama!" Hashirama yells waving his hand in front of the younger man's face.

Tobirama then realizes he had zoned out while staring at the door way and shakes his head to snap out of it, "Yes?"

Hashirama chuckles, "We have to get everything ready! It has to be perfect for when Mito gets here. Oooh do you think she's been thinking of me?"

Tobirama sighs and prays for patience.

In the end, Madara guesses he should have expected it. After all, his clan had been scorning him from afar for many years. Even before Izuna died, the Uchiha gave him suspicious glances every now and then.

Maybe he just never expected them to take it so far. Maybe he didn't expect it to come from his closest cousin, someone who had played with him and Izuna when they were children. Either way, it shocked him when they announced it to him. He had carefully surveyed the room to gauge reactions and confirm that this was real. Many in the room had seemed uneasy, but whether it was because they expected him to react badly or because of his expulsion altogether, he did not know. To cast out their most powerful shinobi in generations is indeed a bold move, after all. Likely, they rationalized it as getting rid of a loose canon that would slander their name at any moment.

It hurt to be alienated by his own blood, but he cannot afford to let that pain consume him. If the Uchiha do not want him to bear their name, then so be it. They could only strip him of so much, and it seems to him at this point that they have taken most everything already.

Madara returns to the compound after visiting the Hokage and his brother, gathers his things from his old house, and leaves without a single word to anyone. Many of his once clanmates seem shocked, likely by his lack of opposition, and maybe now they realize how truly tired he has become of constant battles.

He spends the day making himself a home just outside the village in the untouched woods. It is hard work, but also monotonous which gives him space and time to think.

For Madara, the knowledge that Izuna and the rest of his brothers dont hate him is both uplifting and deeply confusing. On one hand, he can't quite forgive himself for his percived failues, so it is hard to believe they could. Even if they do, what does he do with that? He has spent so long hating himself and being stuck in those feelings he doesn't remember what it is like to not have them.

He thinks maybe it is somewhat like the feeling he has when he is with Hashirama. The free easy friendship where he feels safe because he knows when it is just the two of them, he is never being found lacking. He can trust that Hashirama is not judging him.

Or maybe it is even similar to the giddiness he feels when there is a particularly perplexed look on Tobirama's face. That man is normally so stoic and serious that seeing him blatantly confused is hilarious.

And that in and of itself is another train of thought. Because if anyone had ever told him following his youngest brother's death that he would be remotely able to tolerate, much less be extremely intrigued by, Senju Tobirama, he would have literally smashed their skull in. Yet it seems that the gods have a very ironic sense of humor. Madara finds himself curious about Hashirama's brother.

Why go to such lengths to help him? Tobirama said he wanted to apologize, but he didn't seem like the sort that would get bent out of shape if an apology was not accepted. Madara still doesn't exactly trust the guy, and he definitely still believes there is an alterior motive behind it, but damn it, he wants to know what the hell is going on. It just so happens to be the perfect thing to pull Madara from what would otherwise be a very boring lonely future.

He knows it is unlikely the village or his own kin will ever accept him, and he knows that Hashirama is beginning a new life with his wife starting tomorrow. Before, that left him without anything to hold him afloat and a plethora of hopelessness pulling him under. Now he is feeling lighter, he could probably swim on his own for awhile, but unraveling the mystery of Senju Tobirama is a much more amusing passtime.

Besides, the face the Senju made when Madara had teased him? Absolutely priceless. He must record it at least once with his sharingan.

He finishes with his hut and then goes about the matter of aquiring some formal clothing. By the time that is finished, the sun is sinking below the horizon.

Madara heaves a sigh as he returns to the home he built. He put all of his necessities in it already, but it still seems so empty and so entirely silent without the heartbeats of his clan around him. That old familiar pain throbs in his chest as he lays down and he prays that it will soon go away.

He rises the next morning with the sun and hurriedly dresses himself. He has no desire to stay in this maddening silence. He wrestles his hair into a ponytail to help cover the fact that he doesn't own a brush or a mirror as he makes his way towards Hashirama's chakra signature.

It seems that the wedding is still being organized, as the unfamiliar chakra signature of the bride is settled away from Hashirama's and Tobirama's chakra is right beside Hashirama. It is also in the albino's house which seems slightly strange but Madara shrugs it of. He knocks solidly on the door and waits. Tobirama's chakra approaches and the door swings open.

"Madara. You know the wedding isn't until evening right?" Tobirama says with a groggy yawn.

Madara internalizes the knowledge that Tobirama is just as awful in the mornings as Izuna was so he can chuckle about it later before responding, "Actually, I didn't. I am sure Hashirama told me what time it would be held at least once, but I was not listening when he did because I had planned to be... unable to attend today."

Tobirama pales a bit when he catches the true meaning of those words, "Yes well. Hashirama is in the bath. He won't be out for awhile, he takes and unreasonably long time in there. But you can come in and wait if you like."

Tobirama steps out of the way of the door and Madara moves past him into the house. He is shocked to find everything is pristinely neat and orderly, given the condition of the Senju's lab.

Madara carefully positions himself so that he can remove his shoes and not have the albino behind him and then asks, "How is this place so neat when your lab looks like a wind style user let loose several tornadoes in it?"

Tobirama rubs his eyes as he moves past and then scoffs with offense, "My laboratory is not that messy. Don't be dramatic."

"It most certainly is that messy! I almost tripped over several things strewn about when you took me there!" Madara retaliates.

"I know where every single thing is in there. So therefore it is not a mess."

"That is the worst logic I have ever heard."

"You are exaggerating again."

"Wha- No I am not!"

"You grew up with the Uchiha; there is no possible way that was the worse logic you have ever heard, especially given that my logic is perfectly sound."

"You're insufferable. And sloppy."

Tobirama sighs, "It is too early for me to tell you all the reasons why you are wrong. Would you like some tea instead?"

Madara growls. He retracts all previous interest in this man, he is simply the infuriating worm he has always been and nothing else.

"Tea it is then. Make yourself comfortable." Tobirama drawls as he goes to make the tea.

Madara huffs in annoyance and finds a place in the living area to settle himself.

Tobirama trudges in and passes a cup of tea to Madara before settling down himself, "I read your notes."

"Of course you did." Madara says as he takes a sip of the hot beverage. He wrinkles his nose at the lack of sweetener.

Tobirama rolls his eyes and pushes a tray with sugar and honey towards Madara, "I hate to add to your ego, but your ideas are good. I just need ways to implement them."

Madara hums thoughtfully as he adds a copious amount of honey to his tea, "Well my main suggestion was to recruit for the police force from all clans that live in the village as close to an equal amount as possible so that no one clan feels powerless and no one clan will receive the brunt of the discontent aimed at law enforcement. As for a way to do it, I heard from Hashirama that you are setting up and academy for young shinobi to be trained as they grow. That would be sufficient. Place a branch curriculum for those who wish to pursue being part of the police force."

Tobirama nods once, "Straight forward enough. Who would we chose as leaders though? We would need a leader for the force to decide who gets to teach the younglings and keep things running in general."

"True. And Hashirama can't do it. Aside from his workload already being more than a lazy oaf can realistically accomplish, it would make the position of Hokage a far too powerful one. It also couldn't be you for similar reasons. The best choice would be to leave it to a vote as the choice of Hokage was."

"I don't think that would be wise either," Tobirama says as he takes a drink from his own mug, "Leaving too many choices to the people could be just as bad as not giving them any."

"Well then you should be the one to choose."

"What? Why? You just said that I couldn't."

"No, I said that you could not be the leader of the police. Listen, if not by a vote, then the only other way it to have someone in the administration choose. And that means there are a total of three possible choices. The council made of the elders and clan heads is too emotional and would be overpowered given that choice. That brings it down to two. The Hokage runs the village and commands shinobi. He also would have too much power with the choice, the possibility of future corruption is too great. Then there is only one. The advisor oversees the placement of shinobi on missions and assissts the Hokage with the work of running the village. Given that everything he does goes through either the Hokage or the council before being implemented, the best course would be to give him this vital duty, which would not have to go through the other two. It balances everything."

Tobirama squints in thought, "It does?"

"Think about it. The village chooses the Hokage. The Hokage picks his advisor and has the power to remove him and choose a new one if necessary. Well if the advisor chooses the leader of the police whose duty is to enfoce laws on everyone, even the Hokage, then the power circles between them with the council on the outside of that circle, permanently."

"Huh. You... came up with all of that just now?"

Madara chuckles, "I have a lot of time to think most days."

Silence over takes them as and Madara glances at the other man to see a look of deep concentration on his face.

"I will draft all the documents get everything organized and the then present the ideas at the next meeting. Thank you for your help." Tobirama says.

Madara finishes off his tea then sets the cup back on the tray, "You're welcome. Who would your choice be by the way?"

"Hm. I am not sure... it will be a difficult decision." Tobirama replies thoughtfully.

"You do a lot of overthinking don't you?" Madara asks in a mildly amused tone.

"I am alive because I 'overthink'." Tobirama snipes, "Also, you just came up with a plan for an entire new branch of government in one conversation and it isn't half bad, yet I'm the one who overthinks?"

"Fair point." Madara says.

Tobirama relaxes in the comfortable silence that follows and then spares a glance at his companion. Morning light cascades through the window and gives the pale man an unearthly glow. However, despite the peaceful atmosphere, Madara seems restless and distraught.

"Is something bothering you?" Tobirama asks even though he fully expects Madara to dodge the question.

The raven turns a calculating gaze on the albino, "Yes."

"Alright. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Madara's gaze somehow becomes even sharper, "I don't understand you. I don't understand how you can hate my guts for years and then after one day of observation completely flip your opinion and start caring about me."

"I don't really understand you either. Maybe that's something we can work towards? Understanding each other I mean." Tobirama states.

"Maybe. I'm still not conviced that you're not plotting something." Madara says.

"No offense, but that's pretty stupid."

Madara shoots him a glare and Tobirama swears the man is trying to set him on fire with his mind.

"Hear me out. If I wanted to kill you, I could have just let you die on that suicide mission. If I was trying to get to your clan, I would have stopped the farce as soon as you where cast out of it. As things stand right now, any plot I could have had would, at this point, be moot. I am still trying to be friendly though."

"Its always possible that you just like watching me suffer."

Tobirama just chuckles, "If you think that, then you understand me even less than you thought. I have no desire to cause you or anyone else needless pain. It was different perhaps, when I saw you as a threat to the safety of the village. But I understand how misguided that was now."

Madara sighs deeply and then looks out the window at the streets which are starting to fill with life, "If I could have one wish, it would be that everyone could reach the same conclusion. I am tired of violence and death. I would not want to jeopardize the very thing built to stop it. They should trust more in Hashirama's judgement. For all his buffoonery, he is not entirely bereft of intelligence. In the end, if it came down to a choice between our bond or protecting the village by taking my life, I am certain he would make the correct choice regardless of how much he destroyed himself in the process. That's who he is, who he has always been since I met him. The fact that no one pauses to consider that and realize the reason he hasn't taken action is because no such choice is necessary makes me wonder if he was elected on charisma alone and everyone just forgot all the reasons why he was successful as a clan leader during a brutal war."

Tobirama opens his mouth to try and reply but he cant think of anything so he shuts it. Even he had a tendency to forget those things about his brother. Given, he did have to keep sense knocked into the man at time, but Hashirama is an effective leader on his own when he needs to be. He only acts stupid to keep others at ease.

"Maybe... Maybe they just fear how far it would get before Anija would even consider that an option... You would almost have to be threating a new war Madara. He loves you that much." Tobirama says eventually.

Madara smiles without any semblance of joy, "Well no one said he wasn't naive."

"Regardless, their accusations are baseless and their hatred unfounded. I apologize once more for my place in that, even if you don't believe me, I am sorry."

Madara turns to him and regards him for several long moments before turning his gaze back out the window, "Apology accepted. I appreciate your newly found empathy."

Tobirama relaxes after hearing those words, and he hadn't even realized how much he had tensed up. He still does not understand why he cares so very much about Madara's forgiveness, but he does. Madara's frayed nerves seem to be somewhat smoothed over as well.

Both of them are content to bask in the sunlight entering the windows and sit in pleasant silence.

"Tooooobiiiiii! Have you seen my- EEP!" Hashirama comes barreling into the room disrupting the peace... fully nude. Tobirama had been so engrossed in conversation that he had forgotten his brother's unfortunate lack of boundaries around him and the fact that he would not expect Madara to be there. Oops.

Madara locks eyes with his naked friend and immediately curses himself for instinctively glancing down before the oaf could scramble for something to cover his shame.

The former Uchiha truly never wanted to see so much of his Hokage but that was his lot in life it seems. Fully blaming Hashirama for the debacle at hand, Madara grabs the closest thing to him, a book unfortunately for the victim to be, and chunks it as hard as he can right at the moron's head.

"Ow! What was that for!" Hashirama whines rubbing the welt already popping up on his forehead.

"For prancing around your brother's house as bare as the day you were born you buffoon! Go put some damn clothes on!" Madara screeches indignantly.

"How was I supposed to know you were here?" The brunette says with a pout, "I just needed my comb."

Madara grits his teeth and grabs another conveniently located book, "I swear to all the gods watching, if you don't get some clothes on in the next ten seconds I will hit you where it hurts and your poor bride will have aN IMPOTENT HUSBAND!!"

Hashirama yelps and uses his hands to defend said area before scampering back down the hallway. Madara hurls the book at his friend anyway, just for good measure, smacking him right in his exposed rear and earning a high pitched scream.

"Tch. What an imbecil. How the hell is HE our leader." Madara grumbles turning to face Tobirama who is in agony trying not to laugh out loud.

Madara scowls, "It is not funny."

That only makes Tobirama's convulsions increase. Madara huffs and turns towards the window to hide his own smile. Hashirama's idiocy was good for one thing at least. Madara had never heard the younger Senju laugh like this before. The lack of any sort of tension is... nice.

Tobirama's laughter dies down eventually and he wipes away a few tears before saying, "Good aim."

"He deserved it." Madara replies.

"I did not. You're so mean." Hashirama whines as he reenters the room wearing only the first layer of his formal clothing, which covers him fairly sufficiently.

"I don't think you should be parading around nude Anija," Tobirama says, "Your bride may not appreciate it. And Madara and I definitely do not."

Much pouting and hours later, Madara and Tobirama manage to wrestle their friend/brother into his clothing and get him looking presentable. The whole time, Madara can't help but wonder if Tobirama has to mother Hashirama like this all the time of if the latter is just especially inept today due to nerves. Either way, it is shameful for a grown man to need such coddling and Madara makes sure to mention the fact that Hashirama is an over emotional goo ball several times. Not that it makes a difference but getting a rise out of the Hokage is an easy source of entertainment.

Madara ends up paired with Tobirama once again as the two have to separate from Hashirama to go and see if the venue is ready. The former Uchiha pulls on his shoes, bids farewell to his friend and then, with an albino at his side, prepares to face what may be his least favourite thing in the entire universe, the village that totally hates him.

As he normally does, Madara pretends not to notice the glares and whispers and keeps his head held high, though what he truly wants to do is find a deep dark hole to curl up in and escape the scrutiny.

Tobirama, for his part, throws his own glares at at the offeders and hurries them to their destination.

Madara distracts himself from the obvious animosity directed at him, even once they have arrived, by making sure everything is perfect for his friend's wedding.

Hashirama chose a garden (of course he did) for the location and flowers are in bloom everywhere (some of them Madara is certain are out of season this time of year even with his limited knowledge on the subject indicating that Hashirama had grown them himself). They make for simple but beautiful decorations on their own so there is little work to be done besides chairs and the little alter where the bride and groom will stand but Madara still fusses over all of it. He must have been too obvious because Tobirama gives him a concerned look.

"You can talk to me you know. I mean... I know we aren't friends exactly but I would like for us to be eventually and if you need someone to talk to I will listen." Tobirama says softly.

Madara halts his frivolous work and glances Tobirama's way, "Friends huh. Full of surprises aren't you."

Tobirama shrugs, "I thought it was obvious. If you don't like the idea of course we dont have to pursue it."

"No, it sounds agreeable. Given some time to build some trust, of course." Madara says as he returns to obsessively straightening a knot that is already straight.

Tobirama's voice interrupts him again, "Friends talk to each other. That may be a good place for us to start."

Madara stands in place silently. He has talked alot to and around this man recently, of private matters he would rather have shared. But this is different. This will be the first time Madara would actively be confiding his feelings willingly as if Tobirama was a confidant who actually genuinely cared. And that scares the raven. Because although the man no longer seems to be actively trying to incriminate him, there are a few large steps between that and a person Madara can talk to.

On the other hand however, Madara is so full of anxiety that he may burst and he cannot in good conscious darken this day for Hashirama. Talking would calm his nerves a bit, at least it did before when he would talk to his aforementioned friend. Perhaps it will work again.

"Leave it to he who must know everything to wheedle information out of me. Fine, I will tell you. I am... uncertain why I am here." Madara says turning his gaze to the ground. It is half the truth.

"Because Anija wants you to be. He would be quite distressed if his precious ones weren't present for such an important event."

"I meant... The whole village is going to be here. Including the Uchiha. And everyone will sit with their family and I... I will obviously be more alone then ever. Hashirama is getting married and I won't ruin it for him by putting shadows on this day but I do not know how much of this I will be able to stand. I am trying to be better for Izuna and for Hashirama but I don't feel better for any significant length of time no matter how hard I try."

"It has barely been a day, you are not going to get better overnight. It would be foolish of anyone to expect that of you. But you are wrong to say you are alone. You can stand with me at Anija's side. He has claimed you as a brother many times after all. It is where you belong."

Madara gapes incredulously at his companion. That he would say such a thing is... truly baffling.

"You... you understand, of course, how many people are going to be more than a little bit angry if I do that right?"

"Yes, but Anija will be thrilled and Mito won't mind either way because she is neutral towards you and it is their day so it is only their opinions that matter."

"And you?"

"My opinion doesn't matter much either way, but if you want it, I would be honoured to stand beside you as we celebrate Hashirama's union."

Madara thinks about it until the first people begin to arrive. He looks Tobirama in the eye for a long moment and considers it a great sign of trust that the albino makes no attempt to look away. Trust! Of all things to be coming from this man of all people!

"Alright Senj-..." Madara haults his answer halfway through takes a breath and then changes his wording, "Alright, Tobirama. Together."

Madara finds content in the way Tobirama smiles at him. Maybe he did have an alterior motive. Maybe he was after some unknown boon the raven himself didn't even know about. But even if he is, Madara chooses to ignore it. He makes for decent enough company. The former Uchiha is willing to work with that alone. But there's that and more to be found Madara only has to be diligent and persistent enough to dig it up. And really, what else does he have to do?

As the sun sets that evening, Madara stands beside his best friend the way family should. Tobirama stands close enough to him their shoulders brush. Hashirama cries when he first sees them and then several more times throughout the ceremony. Madara just catches a glimpse as Tobirama rolls his eyes like a petulant child and stifles a chuckle.

Luckily, Hashirama's bride already seemed aware her groom was a total idiot and just smiled warmly and wiped the tears away everytime they emerge.

"She is the only one for him," Madara mumbles decisively under his breath as the couple kisses.

"Very true," Tobirama replies, "But do not let appearances fool you. She is not only capaple of putting him in his place, she will do so upon request."

Madara snaps his head around to face Tobirama's smug grin just as applause goes up for the newlyweds. The albino in question just starts laughing and Madara joins in soon after.

He feels more full and warm than he has in years and wonders later when he's alone and the high begins to fade how he could keep that feeling.


End file.
